Beijing Today (March 30, 2007)

BEIJING TODAY

The Emperor’s new clothes: haute couture meets Tang Dynasty.

A scenic sojourn in seaside Scandinavia.

Tragic terminus to fan’s Lau obsession.

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Gaia finds a face in Henan

Lined up along the borders of face-like mud basso-relievos, 3,000 students from Zhongyuan University of Technology performed an art piece during a local thanksgiving festival for the earth in Zhengzhou, Henan, this Tuesday.

CFP Photo

FRIDAY MARCH 30 – APRIL 5, 2007 NO. 304 CN11-0120 HTTP://BJTODAY.YNET.COM

CHIEF EDITOR: JIAN RONG NEWS EDITOR: HOU MINGXIN DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN

First publicly gay host to join Phoenixtv.com

Soaring paternity tests challenge traditional ethics

Rome mayor makes cultural tour to Beijing

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Modern Beijing captured with 500-year-old technology.

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Under the auspices of the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government Run by Beijing Youth Daily President: Zhang Yanping Editor in Chief: Zhang Yabin Executive Deputy Editor in Chief: He Pingping Director: Jian Rong Price: 2 yuan per issue 26 yuan for 3 months Address: No.23, Building A, Baijiazhuang Dongli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China Zip Code: 100026 Telephone/Fax: (010) 65902525 E-mail: bjtoday@ynet.com Hotline for subscription: (010) 67756666 (Chinese) , (010) 65902626 (English) Overseas Code Number: D1545 Overseas Distribution Agent: China International Book Trading Corporation

March 30 2007

News

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China confirms first human bird flu death in 2007

By Qiu Jiaoning China confirmed its first human bird flu death in 2007 on Wednesday, saying a 16-yearold boy in Anhui Province died from bird flu, the country’s third human bird flu case this year.

The boy, surnamed “Wu”, developed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on March 17, was hospitalized in a local hospital in Bengbu, a rural eastern county in Anhui, on March 18 and died late Tuesday, the Anhui Provin-

cial Health Office said in a statement on Wednesday. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Anhui Center for Disease Control and Prevention both confirmed in the statement that the boy tested positive for the H5N1 strain.

“China’s Ministry of Health informed WHO before confirmation on Monday and informed WHO that the case had been confirmed but the patient had passed away on Tuesday,” Joanna Brent,

the World Health Organization spokeswoman in Beijing, said, “Close contacts have been identified and are under medical observation. No clinical abnormalities have been detected in the contacts at this stage.”

Signs of the virus among birds have not been found in the area, and the boy had no history of exposure to fowl that died because of illness, according to the statement.

China announced its first

human bird flu case in 2007 in January, when a 37-year-old Anhui farmer contracted the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but recovered. The second case afflicted a 44-year-old farmer in Fujian in February.

The latest case brings the total number human bird flu cases recorded in China to 24, including 15 deaths, since 2003.

The case also brings total worldwide deaths from bird flu to 170, according to WHO figures.

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Hou Mingxin Chu Meng Designer: Zhao Yan

E-mail:Houmingxin@ynet.com

Local H2O feeds Shunyi Olympic Water Park

By He Jianwei 1.7 million cubic meters of water have found a man-made home in Shunyi, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games said Wednesday.

The equipment commissioning and exterior decoration for the course, known as the Shunyi Olympic Water Park, is still underway, Zhang Xiangdong, vice-director of the Beijing Shunyi Olympic Venues Management Committee said at a press conference on the Shunyi Olympic Water Park’s construction.

The water in the park is from the Beijing area, and is under the management of Beijing’s municipal government. “None of this water is from the south of China, by way of the present south-to-north Water Diversion Project,” he said.

The VIP box could contain more than 1,200 guests and officials, and spectators will sit on the other side of the course opposite to the VIP box, he said.

After the Olympic Games, the Water Park will be modeled as the largest tourist destination in the northeast of Beijing, he said.

Construction investment has reached 400 million yuan (US$52 million); the project broke ground on July 22, 2005, Zhang Lei, general manager of the Beijing Olympic Aquatic Park Co Ltd, said.

The Water Park will be the largest new competition venue of the Beijing Olympics, spanning 3,000 meters from north to south and 900 meters from east to west with a total area of 1.62 square kilometers.

On August 8, the start of the one-year countdown to the Games, the first “Good Luck Beijing” Sports Series Test Competition – the World Youth BoatRacing Championships – will be held there.

The construction of Olympic venues will be finished by the end of this year, except for the National Stadium, which will be completed next March, Wu Jingjun, the chief engineer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Project Construction Headquarters Office, said.

2006 Beijing Volunteer Award given to foreigner for the first time David N Tool (second from the right), a professor at Beijing International Studies University, is the first foreign volunteer to make the top ten list.

He has been working to cor-

rect Chinglish signs in Beijing for six years. Ten Beijing volunteers who made remarkable contributions to the well-being of the general public in 2006 were awarded Wednesday at a

ceremony held by the Beijing Youth League, the Beijing Volunteer Association and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

Photo by Kevin Cui

Recruitment launched for volunteers from outside the Mainland

By He Jianwei Foreign Olympic volunteers should be equipped with knowledge of Chinese language and Chinese culture, Liu Jian, director of the Beijing Olympic Games Volunteer Work Coordination Group said Wednesday.

“We need more volunteers who can speak languages other than English, French and Spanish,” he said at the launch of vol-

unteer recruitment for people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese and foreigners.

Registration for the volunteers will be from March 28 to the end of March next year.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games announced five websites for the applicants: hab.gov.hk for Hong Kong, sport.gov.cn for Macao,

bjtx.org for Taiwan, bjqb.gov.cn for overseas Chinese and ebeijing.gov.cn for foreigners.

There will be 100,000 volunteers for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 70,000 for the Olympic Games and 30,000 for the Paralympics. There are over 400,000 applicants with more than 270,000 from Beijing and more than 130,000 from other provinces so far.

All is new at the 798 Art Festival

By He Jianwei The artists of the 1970s and 1980s will bring a feast of contemporary visual and audio art to the 2007 Beijing 798 Art Festival, organized by the Beijing 798 Art Zone Administration & Development Office, to be kicked off on April 28.

It is the first art festival to be held since the 798 Art District became an official creative industry base last year.

The former 798 Art Festival was organized by Huang Rui, an

artist once based in the 798 Art District who left the district in the early of this year.

“This art festival will be the turning point for the development of the 798 art district,” Zhu Qi, a critic and the chief curator of the festival, said, “It is a unique model: funded by private enterprises, supported by the government and organized by independent curators and artists.”

The festival includes four parts: feature exhibitions, unit exhibi-

tions, co-exhibitions and forums.

“Compared with Huang Rui’s art festivals, this festival will retain the features of fashion and alternative arts, but it will also focus on the balance between the academic and the market,” Zhu said.

“The art festivals held before didn’t get the approval of the government, but now we have won government support,” Xu Yong, an artist in the district and one of the art festival committee members, said.

Expats’ Beijing photo contest kicks off

By Gan Tian The “Beijing: An Olympic City in View 2007” photo contest kicked off in front of the National Museum on Tuesday when the 500-day countdown to the Olympics began. Foreign embassies and chambers of commerce, exchange students and tourists attended the opening ceremony.

Organized by the Beijing Tourism Administration, the press office of the city government and the Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchange Center, the activity provides an opportunity for expats in Beijing to get closer to the development of the metropolis.

The organizing committee specially arranged buses for participants to go to Siheyuan, the traditional courtyards and special-flavored streets and other places typifying Beijing style.

The Awards Ceremony will be held at the one year countdown to the Olympics on August 8 this year, with one special prize, two first prizes, five second, eight third, and 100 consolation prizes.

Anyone can download the application form from its official website and mail the completed form with their works to the Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchange Center (F/1, Building 10, Fahuananli Xiaoqu, Tiyuguan Lu, Chongwen, 100061), or you can email digital works to photocontest@btmbeijing.com.

For detailed information, please call 6715 2378.

World sinology conference held in Beijing

By Annie Wei The three-day World Conference on Sinology 2007, held by Renmin University of China (RUC) and the office of the Chinese language council international, kicked off on Monday in RUC’s Mingde Hall.

The first world sinology conference held in China was themed “a dialogue of civilizations and a harmonious world.”

Meng Bing, from RUC’s news center, said that the planners hoped the event could bring together the ideas and opinions of wellknown scholars from all over the world, to explore the traditional Chinese cultural values and their contemporary iterations, as well as promote mutual understanding between different cultures.

More than 200 experts, with over 60 well-known sinologists from prestigious overseas universities and institutes, were invited to speak and join in the discussion.

The RUC Institute for International Promotion of Chinese Language and the RUC Sinology Center were launched during the conference.

March 30 2007

By Han Manman He Qiang is a woman, but she wasn’t born one.

Qiang, 24, made news this week when she became China’s first transsexual to publish videos of her gender reassignment surgery (GRS) online.

After finishing the second round of her male-to-female GRS last Friday, she posted the new surgery videos to her blog.

“I had a nice sleep after yesterday’s surgery. Although my face is still in a lot of pain and tightly bandaged, I could feel the change.

It must be smoother, more tender and plumper than before. I’m so excited to remove the bandages. I want to see my new, more womanly face,” Qiang wrote in her blog.

Shen Shaoyong, the doctor in charge of Qiang’s GRS, said reproductive organ removal and re-

plantation would be conducted in May. “After the three operations, Qiang will be completely transformed from a man into a woman,” Shen said.

Qiang’s first stage of GRS, breast augmentation, was performed last month in a Guangdong plastic surgery hospital.

Her blog is hosted at Sina.com and titled “Sister Butterfly’s.” At the end of 2006, Qiang posted her

desire to become a real woman with both words and images.

“When I was only three years old, I found myself different from other boys. Deep in my mind, I always believed I should be a girl,” Qiang wrote.

Qiang, who graduated from Guangzhou Nanhua Business Administration College last year, currently works for a local tourism company. Qiang was the only

son in the family and has two older sisters.

The family risked being fined for breaking the One Child Policy to have to have a boy to “continue the family line.” Although the family tried their best to persuade Qiang, they finally caved.

“Don’t show your face around here for the next ten years!” Qiang’s father commanded when she last saw him.

News

Sex change surgery hits the web

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First publicly gay host to join Phoenixtv.com

Didier Zheng Photo provided by Didier Zheng

Subway site collapse traps six line is under construction in Haidian Nan Lu between the North Third and Fourth Ring Roads in the city’s northwestern Haidian District.

Xinhua Photo

Dining in Han style

By Jackie Zhang Beijing diners seeking a unique experience can be blasted back to ancient times the next time they eat out.

Hanfengshiyi, a restaurant which promotes traditional Han culture, opened last weekend.

People who go to the restaurant can don hanfu – not to be confused with the clothes of Qing Dynasty (1616–1911) like qipao – and sit on floor cushions. Restaurant staff perform all the Han etiquette dining rituals and play ancient music.

The restaurant mainly serves hot pot, and has a selection of hanfu in many styles and colors

hanging from racks by the doorway for entering diners.

The owners are both Han culture enthusiasts who quit their jobs to run the restaurant.

“It is not important what food we serve. The important thing is the restaurant is like a stage to educate people about traditional Han culture,” Li Liang said, “We are happy every day at this job, because it gives us an outlet to dress in hanfu and teach about Han culture.”

Feng Maofang from Qufu, Shandong Province, said, “In the past four months, we’ve been busy preparing.”

Feng said the restaurant also

accepts orders for clothes. “Customers can place an order for clothes, and we’ll also help them design and make their own.”

Hanfengshiyi has grabbed the attention of many Han culture enthusiasts. The Han BBS circuit has been buzzing with talk about the restaurant and plans for a party there. On its opening day, people flocked. Business has since tapered off.

The restaurant is located on the east side of Lize Qiao by southwest Third Ring Road.

“It may be a bit remote,” Feng said, “But this is the only Han-culture-themed restaurant in China, and there are a lot of enthusiasts.”

Sexy basins baffle Beijingers

By Chu Meng A row of fancy basins shaped like a lady’s posterior outside the male and the female restrooms of a Donghuamen restaurant brought blushes to embarrassed Chinese eaters.

Although the modern art industry is soaring in the capital with 798 Art District and similar areas, to have the basins in such an ordinary public place invited odd gazes.

“The basin is a woman’s hips with her backside facing the customer. It’s painted red and decorated with sexy underwear and fishnet silk stockings. You have to stand behind it while washing your hands. It was a little embarrassing,” an eater surnamed “Ma” said.

“It might be a good piece in an

The basins invited odd looks. art museum, but it’s quite inappropriate here. If my son asked me what it is, how would I explain it?” he asked.

CFP Photo “We wanted to express health in art and practice. They are common in other countries,” the owner said.

Brief news Drug smuggling continues Customs seized 790 kilograms of drugs last year, up 65 percent from 2005, and investigated 335 cases of drug trafficking, up 92 percent, Li Wenjian, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs’s anti-smuggling bureau, said this week.

Drivers look before they turn The country filed a total of 370,000 cases of traffic accident last year, with an average annual decrease of 10.8 percent since 2003, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security said this week.

Beijingers make bank Yearly salaries in the capital last year rose to an average of 36,000 yuan (US$4,660), up 10 percent from 2005, a spokesman for the Municipal Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

Officials bungle billions The country’s auditor learned that as much as two billion yuan (US$277 million) intended for 26 highway construction projects, most of which were built during the 10th Five-Year Plan period from 2001 to 2005, were misappropriated, a spokesman for the National Audit Office said this week.

Organs supply gap On average, about 1.5 million patients need organ transplants across the country each year, but only 10,000 can find organs due to scarce supply, Huang Jiefu, vice minister of health, said.

(By Jiang Xubo)

Editors: Hou Mingxin Jiang Xubo Designer: Yang Gen

Six workers from the China Railway 12th Bureau Group were trapped underground by a collapse at a construction site on the capital’s No 10 Subway Wednesday morning. The subway

BEIJING TODAY

By Chen Shasha A gay man survived selection for Phoenix TV’s new online anchor position and will become the first openly gay TV host from the Chinese mainland.

The new program, “Tongxing Xianglian” (Connecting Homosexual People), will invite professors and homosexuals to discuss homosexual issues. It also plans to work with six gay websites to help gay people develop relationships.

The program will begin airing on Phoenix TV’s online channel next Thursday.

“I found it a valuable test when I heard of the program,” Didier Zheng, the host, who currently works for Chi Heng Foundation, a Hong Kong based NGO, said.

Zheng graduated from the Sorbonne, in Paris. “France has a professional homosexual channel dedicated to broadcasting homosexual films, entertainment and educational programs on the subject,” Zheng said.

However, finding a host like Zheng is not an easy job, Ganggang, production manager of the program, said. Many people were unqualified to be a host, of course, but what stopped most candidates was fear of making their sexual orientation public.

Ganggang sent invitations to many well-known hosts and actors who are closeted homosexuals, but was turned down. “They don’t want the world to know their orientation,” Ganggang said. Ganggang’s team launched a public recruitment on March 15, requiring that all applicants must be openly gay with good communication skills and some hosting experience.

More than 800 men and women from across China submitted their resumes, though it was a volunteer job that only paid allowances for transportation and meals.

Most people quit days later, worrying their life would be changed. Only two were invited for this Tuesday’s screen test, but only Zheng showed up: the other pulled out at the last minute.

“We understand their worries, the media can’t help if their friends and families pull a 180 after they take the job,” Ganggang said.

March 30 2007

Focus

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Soaring use of paternity tests challenges traditional Chinese ethics A recent investigation in Beijing showed that requests for DNA identification of one’s own children, technically called “paternal identification,” are increasing at a rate of 40 to 50 percent each year

BEIJING TODAY

By Chu Meng More and more legal and private businesses have started to offer paternity test services. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences spoke openly on the issue, because family relationships in China have been on a weakening trend for some time. In Beijing especially, shaky domestic structures have been clashing with traditional Chinese ethics.

The upper-class custom of having “a lady on the side for fun” is one of the the main causes for this market’s development. The frequent use of DNA to identify ones own child reflects the weak, fragile connections in families today, and the lack of confidence between husbands and wives.

DNA testing run by civilian groups Beijing Huada Fangrui Forensic Medicine Center for Identification and Consultancy, one of the most famous clinics, was established in November 2000. The company was the first to deal openly with paternity tests. The company even ran advertisements in public outlets for its DNA identification service.

There are only five legal institutes of forensic medicine that offer DNA identification in Beijing: one under the administration of the Ministry of Security of China, one under the Beijing Supreme People’s Court, one under the Beijing Public Security Bureau, one under Beijing’s Red Cross Blood Center and the Parentage Identification Center under Chaoyang Hospital.

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Chinese provHowever, So far there is no law inces, the there are over 40 organizain China to regulate people going tions, like the the procedure and val- to social organizations for Legal Identifiidate an individual’s paternal idencation Center decision to hire a pri- tification of under China’s own University of vate organization to their Politics and conduct a paternity children are usually from Law and the test. It is a blank spot wealthier famBeijing Huada in the books. As far as ilies,” Xu Fangrui Forensic Medicine existing laws go, noth- Yuzhou, an Center, which ing is on the books to attorney from Junyue Law deal with DNA regulate the DNA iden- Firm who has identification tification field. dealt with sevnot only for eral of these C h i n e s e cases, said. people, but “Every day, more people call the also for foreigners. Those compaorganizations for information than nies’ business has shot up at 40 to the organization actually deals with.

50 percent annually.

Wealthy clients occupy To protect the privacy of the clients, we usually suggest they consult with the market us over telephone instead of coming “Most of the people seeking to into the office,” Deng said. identify their own children have She said that among potential some complex mental issues. They clients, some are suspicious that want to know whether the child is their own flesh and blood or whether their wives have been unfaithful, and others are wives seeking to it was fathered by someone else. know who the father of their child is.

But once they get a poor result they Others are looking to divide propwere not expecting, they cannot face erty in a divorce and others are the the reality. Families end up broken “ladies on the side” seeking to get and property ends up divided. It’s compensation from the fathers of messy. The emergence of organizatheir illegitimate children. Persons tions for DNA identification caters involved in cases are mostly wealthy. just to people who want to know, What worries the organizations is but want to avoid a lawsuit,” Deng the potential division of property Yajun, director of Beijing Huada than can follow test results.

Fangrui Forensic Medicine Center, One of the most famed Chinese said Wednesday. sociologists, Li Yinhe, from Chinese “In economically well-developed Academy of Social Sciences, said areas like major cities and southern in a CCTV interview, “The frequent

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Editors: Hou Mingxin Chu Meng Designer: Zhao Yan

A doctor at Beijing Red Cross Blood Center takes a blood sample from a baby from Anhui to test its paternity. use of paternity tests reflects the disintegration of confidence and loyalty between man and wife. The increasingly heated searches for identification of ones own child can only serve to show that traditional family ethics are on the brink of collapse, and the social norm is going out the window.”

Identification still short of legal validity

In actual practice, each and every organization signs a waiver with the client beforehand to avoid unnecessary trouble. Beijing Huada Fangrui Forensic Medicine Center’s waiver clearly states, “The individual family property troubles which result following identification shall be borne entirely by the party seeking litigation, and the private identification

CFP Photos certificate we issue has no validity in a court of law.”

“So far there is no law in China to regulate the procedure and validate an individual’s decision to hire a private organization to conduct a paternity test,” Xu said, “It is a blank spot in the books. As far as existing laws go, nothing is on the books to regulate the DNA identification field.”

The 17 organizations approved and authorized not long ago by the Beijing Supreme People’s Court to make legally binding judgements only cover things like real estate appraisal, automobile appraisal and for construction project cost appraisals. Of the ten categories, none include DNA identification of one’s own child.

A doctor checks the identification results of several clients. Her workload has shot up ten times within ten years in Beijing.

March 30 2007

Following the introduction of the new rules, which were unveiled on Tuesday, the central government has urged people who know of any job fraud to report cases to local authorities or ring a special hotline.

Aside from the “dead souls,” another high-profile problem is the creation of far more plum positions

very first step in the right direction to set up a legal pattern for establishing governmental departments.”

The regulations could be better, Xie said.

“It surely makes sense for the new regulations to start with these positions,” Xie said, “But it is a pity that the regulations

fail to adopt a ‘real-name registration system,’ an arrangement to make public how many governmental positions there should be and who holds them.

Monitoring would be easier under such a system.”

Xie said there is more that should be done.

“The regulations only cover

than are required.

“In some places, a director has a dozen deputies,” the paper cited Wu Zhilun, a senior official with Ministry of Supervision, as saying.

The new rules state that “heavy punishments” will be dealt out to government departments, although the China Daily gave no details.

Expert comment

By Jiang Xubo “The new regulations will help to curb a practice which has become quite common for local governments in creating governmental positions,” Xie Kuiqing, professor from the School of Government at Peking University, said, “Yet the introduction of the regulations is just the

governmental departments, and do not extend to local stateowned enterprises, which usually enjoy close relationships with local governments,” Xie said, “And the bodies that monitor the arrangement of government positions must be more independent. Otherwise, the new regulations’ power will be weakened.”

Beijing unveils medals with jade flourish

Eight-year-old singer Aerfa, from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, displayed the medals for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the launch ceremony Tuesday.

IC Photo

Chinese bureaucrats blasted for wasteful practices, luxury office buildings Beijing (AFP) – The Chinese government has blasted local officials for setting a bad example in energy conservation with their luxurious office buildings, state media reported

Wednesday.

Some local governments pursue new, unique and special office buildings, but totally neglect their energy efficiency, the China Daily said, citing

Qiu Baoxing, deputy minister of construction.

Statistics showed most office buildings in China’s major cities were far less energy efficient than those in other international cities

ments’ construction funds, investment and business expenditures do not come from fiscal revenue and so they are beyond supervision of people’s congresses. The luxurious buildings also suggest that local authorities have easy access to large sums of extra income in their operations, which fund their constructions projects,” Liu said.

Though it is hard to deter-

mine whether all the buildings are luxurious or not, the professor said he believes a trend is evident in some regions, given the local economic development situation.

“The pursuit of luxurious office buildings may not only result in the abuse of public resources, but may also lead to corruption,” Ren said, “Local people’s congresses should extend their super-

with similar climates, Qiu said.

Part of the problem was that construction companies failed to keep their promises for more energy-efficient buildings, Qiu Baoxing said.

Panda poop perfect to produce paper Beijing (AP) – There’s a new Chinese saying: When life hands you panda poop, make paper.

Researchers at a giant panda reserve in southern China are looking for paper mills to process their surplus of fiber-rich panda excrement into high quality paper.

Liao Jun, a researcher at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base in Sichuan Province, said the idea came to them after a visit to Thailand last year where they found paper made from elephant dung. They thought panda poop would produce an even finer quality paper, he said.

China builds the ‘world’s largest dragon’ Beijing (AFP) – Investors in a central China city are building a giant US$300 million sculpture of a dragon that they say will be the largest in the world, state media reported this week.

The “Ancestral Dragon,” whose partially completed head rises 30 feet above ground in Henan province, will be finished by 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic’s founding, the Beijing Morning Post said.

The investor group based in the nearby provincial capital of Zhengzhou said the 13-mile metal structure is intended as a tourist destination that will wind its way along a circular group of hills north of the city.

Expert comment The existence of luxurious office buildings means that there are serious flaws in the country’s fiscal policy and there is lack of effective supervision on the use of government funds, Ren Jianming, vice director of the AntiCorruption and Governance Research Center at Tsinghua University, was quoted as saying in the Legal Daily.

“Local government depart-

vision of government funds both from fiscal revenue and extra income. And local governments should be required to make public how much money they have spent and where the money has gone. There should also be a drastic cut in the number of items for which local government can collect administration fees. This will help to curb waste from the beginning.” (By Jiang Xubo)

Outlook

with far too many employees sitting around doing nothing or continuing to be paid after they have retired, the China Daily said.

“In some cases, former staff members’ families receive their salary after they have died,” the paper said, referring to the “dead souls” phenomenon.

The concrete dragon is under construction.

CFP Photo

Editors: Hou Mingxin Jiang Xubo Designer: Zhao Yan

Beijing (AFP) – China has issued new rules intended to weed out “dead souls” and other employees at government departments who earn salaries despite not doing any work, state press reported Wednesday.

Local government departments around the country often pay out more in wages than they should,

Beijing (AFP) – Beijing has banned sending pornographic text messages or pictures via mobile phones after busting phone dealers who sold mass-storage devices containing porn, state media reported Wednesday.

Violators face fines of up to 3,000 yuan (US$385) and two weeks in detention, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting city public security authorities.

Those who sell such content face jail terms between six months and three years, it said.

The chips can hold an hourlong film and were being sold for only five or six yuan (about 60 to 80 cents) each.

5

BEIJING TODAY

China to sack ‘dead souls’ and other slackers

Beijing cracks down on mobile phone porn

March 30 2007

China, Russia sign deals

Business

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Beijing, March 28 (Dow Jones) – China and Russia have signed a US$4.3 billion deal to boost bilateral trade, China’s Ministry of Commerce said.

The agreement was signed during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s official visit to Moscow this week. Both countries are seeking ways to improve their economic

links after forging closer political and military ties.

The trade deal mainly covers Chinese exports of cars, home appliances, cleaning materials and agricultural products to Russia, and imports of machine tools and silicon steel plates, the ministry said.

The two sides will also coop-

erate on timber processing, shipbuilding and mining projects under the agreement.

China and Russia aim to increase their bilateral trade to between US$60 billion and US$80 billion in 2010, from US$33.4 billion last year.

Trade between the neighbors is far outstripped by China’s com-

mercial ties to the US, Japan and South Korea, but Russia is an important energy source for the Chinese economy.

Earlier this week, Hu and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint communique that pledged support for joint projects in the oil and gas sectors, though it offered no specific details.

Gold sparkles on Beijing catwalks

Editors: Hou Mingxin Zhao Hongyi Designer: Zhao Yan

Westin Hotel opens in Beijing

Citigroup speeds up expansion

Microsoft Intel to build US$2.5 bln Dalian plant accused of IPR violation

BEIJING TODAY

Beijing, March 29 (Reuters) – International environmental group Greenpeace accused Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) of illegal logging in protected forests in Yinggeling, a remote mountainous region in southern China’s island province of Hainan.

Environmentalists have previously accused APP of illegal logging in Indonesia, Hainan and Yunnan. The firm has denied wrongdoing.

Beijing, March 29 (Reuters) – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc announced the opening of The Westin Beijing this week.

Located on the Financial Street, the “Wall Street of China” in the heart of Beijing, the new hotel offers a new business space to the prospering market.

Models wearing gold ornaments during a gold jewelry design competition in Beijing Wednesday, March 28.

China was one of the few countries in the world where gold demand was barely dented by a 25-year peak in prices last year.

The market has attracted world-class gold companies, including AngloGold Ashanti from South Africa, who hosted this week’s gold jewelry design competition.

Photo by Dong Yiming

By Zhao Hongyi A Chinese company has filed legal action against Microsoft for an alleged intellectual property rights (IPR) violation, The Mirror reported.

Zhongyi Electronic Ltd, a Beijing-based company, owns the IPR to the Zheng Code input method, a Chinese character input system developed by linguistics professor Zheng Yili and Zheng Long.

Zheng Yili granted all rights to Zhongyi to further develop and market his input method in 1992.

Microsoft China has continued using the input method without license in every Windows edition since Windows 98.

Also, Microsoft’s license for its Song and Hei typefaces ended with Windows 98, though the fonts have remained in every Windows edition since, Zhongyi said in the court papers.

“Ever since Window 98, Microsoft has been using these products totally free,” Lan Kangde, general manager of Zhongyi, said.

Microsoft China refused to issue any statement.

APP accused of illegal logging

By Han Manman Intel plans to build a US$2.5 billion computer chip manufacturing plant in Dalian, giving it local production capacity in one of the fastest-growing semiconductor markets in the world, it announced Monday in Beijing.

The new fabrication plant –

using numbers considered auspicious by Chinese locals – will be Intel’s biggest in Asia, and its first plant in a new site since its last one in Ireland built in 1992.

The new plant, called Fab 68, will produce 12-inch (300-millimetre) integrated processors by 2010 and employ 1,500 workers.

The US government carefully regulates transfer of semiconductor technology to China. Intel China now has an export license from the US government to start using 90-nanometer process technology, which is currently one generation behind its most advanced 65-nanometer technology.

J&J, Avon eye bids for Dabao Beijing, March 27 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson and Avon Products Inc may be among several companies competing to take over a major Chinese cosmetics maker, Beijing Dabao.

Dabao Cosmetics Co put itself up for sale on February 27 by registering with the Beijing Equity Exchange, looking for a buyer to raise 2.3 billion yuan

(US$297 million).

A number of other overseas firms are also looking at acquiring Dabao. A Dabao board secretary told Reuters that the company was aiming to sell all shares to a foreign or domestic investor, but declined to comment on the reports.

“We are offering all of our shares,” Dabao board secretary

Wang Wenbing said.

In 2006, Dabao posted 41.7 million yuan in net profit on sales of 676.2 million, according to a statement posted on the Beijing Equity Exchange. Dabao has net assets of 459.6 million yuan.

Other bidders include L’Oreal, Unilever and Nice, an emerging local brand of wash and oral care products.

Beijing-Stockholm flights launched

By Annie Wei Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) launched its direct route between Beijing and Stockholm, Monday.

The new route has ten flights per week from Beijing International Airport to Scandinavia:

six flights to Copenhagen and four to Stockholm. The planes are Airbus 340s with 245 seats.

The airline is offering round-trip packages priced at 4,500 yuan for economy seating and 14,500 yuan for business.

Corporate universities build alliances

By Gan Tian The First Global Summit For Corporate University Development was held in Beijing, Wednesday.

Corporate universities in China are building alliances to optimize resource distribution, Lee Liu, human resources director of Talent at Motorola University Asia Pacific, said in the summit.

“UTStarcom University, HP Business School, Ericsson China Academy and us have meet and discussed the issue

many times. We think an organization is needed rather than a sponsor, host or event,” he said.

The alliance will allow corporate universities to meet regularly and discuss issues of common interests.

The concept of the corporate university entered China in the 1980s. It provides courses for employees, clients, suppliers and potential customers on leadership, management, quality, marketing, supply chain management and engineering.

“We want to open all of Scandinavia to China, and Beijing will become SAS’ gateway to China, regardless of whether customers fly from Stockholm, Oslo or Copenhagen,” Lars Lindgren, CEO of SAS International, said.

Beijing, March 29 (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc plans to double its number of outlets in China this year to 30, Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince said Thursday.

Citigroup was among the first batch of four foreign banks that won approval on March 20 to incorporate locally in China.

Deutsche Bank to strengthen presence Frankfurt, March 28 (AFP) – Deutsche Bank, the biggest bank in Germany, said it planned to reinforce retail banking interests in China by applying to incorporate its activities there under Chinese law.

Deutsche Bank said it would set up its Chinese headquarters in Beijing, while keeping a foreign currency booking branch in Shanghai.

BOE to sell LCD business out Shanghai, March 28 (Bloomberg) – The Beijing-based BOE Technology Group plans to sell its liquid crystal display unit to its parent as part of plans to form a venture with SVA Group.

Beijing BOE Investment and Development will pay 1.64 billion yuan, or US$212 million, for the deal.

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March 30 2007

Yang Lijuan shows the media report of her story while her mother holds up her father’s death note, condemning IC Photos Andy Lau’s refusal to meet with his daughter privately.

Insane star-chasing leads to family tragedy

Comment

Yang Lijuan had met Andy at the star’s fan club.

Yang Lijuan’s father participated in a TV interview before his death.

Comment Actually I feel very angry, hearing that a family sacrificed so much to support their daughter’s following me. I feel sorry for her, as she appears to be very irresponsible towards her family. I hope that the media will take the right side in reporting this case so that no more children do the same thing.

– Andy Lau, Hong Kong star Dreams are reflections of what lingers in our mind. It’s nothing unusual that girls dream of their idols. But the point is that Yang is very introverted, and might even be autistic. She doesn’t reveal her thoughts to others, so there was no one to help her and tell her that what she was doing was insane. What makes thing worse is her father and mother both believed that seeing Andy was the only way out.

– Xiao Jiangqing, psychiatrist It’s really ignorant and stupid!

We should seriously reconsider young people’s values. If she does

not have any psychological disorders, a 29-year-old adult should be responsible for her behavior and her parents.

– Frozenace It is stupid if one lives for their so-called idol. Everyone should live for themselves, and take good care of themselves.

– sany The star in the case should not be blamed. A star is also an ordinary person. If everyone asks Lau to meet his or her demands, Lau would have nothing to do but to commit suicide!

– cecily The obsession of the daughter doomed the family to tragedy.

– Billion When the era of popular entertainment culture arrives, civilization began to decline.

– abc (Source: andylauvoice.blogpsot.com and Sina.com)

Yang Lijuan received interviews after her father died.

Yang and her mother lived on the street during their last few days in HK.

I think as long as Tian can handle both his training and “commercial activities,” why not just let him be? It is beyond dispute that he has won a lot of honors for his nation.

Hence, there is no need to stop him from doing what he wants to do.

– Sbw It should be helpful for the forthcoming Olympic Games. Every national athlete has the responsibility to earn honor for our country. They should place competition as the first priority.

– cecily Tian is a gifted athlete with good looks and a likable personality.

He has the right to choose what he wants to do in life, either as a diver or an actor. He can be both. It is his own choice.

The sports authorities shouldn’t have given him the axe because of the endorsements and rewards that he so well deserved.

– Growup SF According Tian’s letter to the public, he is not an intractable person. I think it is a pity that for so-called “regulation” reasons he was demoted from the national team. Behind the scenes, maybe some other reasons played the deciding role.

– Psports This punishment is not only too severe for Tian’s

minor offenses but also stupid. A star is killed to the detriment of the nation’s pride. Compared with widespread official corruption, Tian’s “evils” are nothing.

– Jeeves This is common practice in western countries though they use different words to describe the practice. For example, there should be no sex with your spouse, and being absent for social activities is a severe problem.

– Observer It is about time the Chinese sports authorities grow up. The sports talent selection system in the country is the root cause of such problems. In the US, for example, the government plays only a small part in the selection of athletes to the Olympic Games. Anyone has the right to compete for such a qualification.

– Tian Remember to be fair to our athletes and remember everyone makes mistakes. Give him a chance and give his fans a chance too, to see him mounting the podium once again with a gold medal round his neck.

Please don’t waste athletes’ budding talents because of your miraculously inefficient judgment.

– Reader (By Huang Daohen)

Editors: Hou Mingxin Zhao Hongyi Designer: Yang Gen

Yang and her mother returned to Shenzhen Wednesday, leaving the funeral to the Hong Kong government.

Nevertheless, Yang insisted on meeting with her idol privately.

The obsession started when Yang had a dream about Lau when she was sixteen year old. In a span of 12 years, her love for Lau transformed Yang from a student with good grades to a jobless, troubled teenager.

The already poor family tried its best to make her trip possible. Her mother is unemployed and her father’s meager income as a teacher is just enough to support the family.

Their daughter’s crazy actions have already made her family penniless. Yang’s father even decided to sell one of his kidneys to collect travel expenses for her daughter, but was told that selling one’s organs privately is illegal.

Lau’s management company said Tuesday that Yang’s demand was met last Sunday. The company said Yang should stop her unreasonable requests and go home to start new life.

Tian Liang at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 IC Photo pate in a series of corporate promotions and public activities, which caused the national diving team to fire him after repeated warnings.

The 27-year-old “diving prince” will still act as vice director of Shaanxi’s Swimming Administrative Center and go to Tsinghua University to complete his master’s degree, the Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the preparatory regulations of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese athletes are banned from participating in any kind of social activities, including promotions and public activities.

(Source: Reuters and Chinadaily.com)

BEIJING TODAY

By Huang Daohen A 29-year-old Lanzhou, Gansu, woman’s 13 year quest to meet her idol Andy Lau, a Hong Kong star, in person resulted in the depletion of her family’s finances and, finally, her father’s suicide this Monday.

The father’s suicide was meant to protest Lau’s refusal to meet the girl, local media in Hong Kong reported.

Yang Lijuan, the female fan, had just taken her third trip to Hong Kong, in hopes of meeting Lau in person and explaining to him that she wasn’t a unfilial person.

Lau, after hearing her story, replied last June through his manager that her actions were “not correct, abnormal, unhealthy and unfilial.”

The father’s death was confirmed

by Hong Kong police early Monday when Yang attended Lau’s fan club and took a picture together with Lau on Sunday.

The father, according to local media, was not satisfied with Lau’s response, but also felt no energy to support his daughter.

Two-time Olympic diving champion and fan favorite Tian Liang, banished from the national team for the last two years, has decided this Monday to quit competition for good, the sports authority for north China’s Shaanxi Province confirmed Monday.

Li Minghua, head of the Shaanxi Sports Administration, said Monday that the administration approved Tian’s request to retire.

“The request was made with Tian’s full understanding and communication.

We respect the decision he has made,” Li said “Tian’s retirement is a matter for the Shaanxi provincial team alone,” national team manager Zhou Jihong was quoted as saying later.

Calls to the Shaanxi Sports Administration went unanswered. A staffer who was unwilling to be identified said, “The issue is over.

We hope the media won’t blow up the issue.”

Tian, from Chongqing, has won two Olympic golds, three world titles and 15 World Cups in his career.

Upon returning from the Athens Games, Tian was reportedly set to partici-

Debate

‘Diving prince’ quits the pool

7

March 30 2007

Expat news

8

Norwegian PM praises China’s environmental protection efforts

By Chen Shasha Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to China from last Sunday to this Wednesday could be a promotional tour for environmental protection.

Through conversation, lectures and performance, he called for public attention on environment protection, and also praised the Chinese government’s efforts thus far.

“The environment has been the focal point of my visits,” the prime minister said. He said he was glad China is paying more attention to climate change than other countries, especially the US. Nevertheless, he said the situation still demands great attention.

“When I first visited China

in 1985, I saw more bicycles than cars; when I was here in 1995, there were equal numbers of cars and bicycles; now, there are far more cars than bicycles. Sure, it shows China is developing fast, but it will be a challenge for the environment,” he said.

Stoltenberg said the environmental problems of the modern world have largely been caused by the industrialization of developed countries, which now have an obligation to fund developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Stoltenberg held an open session with students at Tsinghua University Tuesday afternoon.

He and the Norwegian government cooperated with the

World Bank to hold an “Environmental Tribute Evening” where Henrik Ibsen’s play, An Enemy of the People, was show.

The play is the first drama to focus on an environmental problem, Ola Breidal, cultural attache of the Norwegian Embassy, said. A Chinese group performed a multimedia piano concerto adapted from the “Yellow River Piano Concerto”

by Jostein Nygard, an environmental specialist from the World Bank.

Stoltenberg said he hopes to draw public support and cooperation for environmental protection. He also said he hopes countries can begin cooperating in the energy sector, as well as in a worldwide anti-poverty campaign and efforts to improve health care.

The Norwegian Prime Minister held a Norwegian salmon at the Shuangjing Carrefour supermarket, Tuesday.

Photo by Tian Yufeng

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Hou Mingxin Han Manman Designer:Zhao Yan

Rome mayor makes cultural tour to Beijing

Walter Veltroni

By Chu Meng Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome, made a three-day trip to Beijing to enjoy a cultural innovation trip around the city’s Olympic construction sites and major artistic organizations this week.

798 and Song Zhuang The 52-year-old mayor was more an art lover than a politician on his Beijing visit. After getting off his plane last Sunday, he headed straight for the home of famous Chinese cynical realist and painter Fang Lijun.

“I read a lot of strong words in newspaper articles before I

ever saw a Fang Lijun painting in Rome. These articles declared Fang was the most gifted of China’s post-89 generation of artists. He was called a cynical realist because of the mix of ennui and rogue humor that prevailed in Chinese society in the first half of the 1990s. He’s also a genuinely nice guy. When I did finally see a Fang Lijun painting, I understood what all the fuss was about,” he said after seeing Fang’s works.

His conversation with the 36-year-old Chinese modern artist was far from enough to satiate the mayor’s hunger for

cultural innovation in Beijing: he took a Monday trip to 798 Art District, he perusing representative art studios like the ParisBeijing Photo Gallery, Time Space, Cheng Xidong Contemporary Art Space and 3818 House Gallery.

“Though I couldn’t understand all their works and paintings, I was still quite shocked by Beijing’s soaring cultural innovations. I’d like to visit the artist colony Song Zhuang, but my schedule is really busy,” the mayor said.

Olympic envy The most political thing the

mayor did during his three days, aside from a banquet with Beijing Municipal officials the first night, was a visit to Beijing’s Olympic construction sites. “It’s been called a ‘Cultural Olympics,’” he said.

“Rome didn’t bid for the 2016 Olympics because of the country’s current political polarization. Rome was the only Italian city that considered hosting the Games. So I envy Beijing.

It is getting all the energy, emotion, cultural potential and economic development that comes with the Games.”

Photo by Tian Yufeng

March 30 2007

in Anhui, Guizhou, Henan, Liaoning and Shanxi.

“Being a coal miner in China is one of the world’s most dangerous jobs,” Khalid Malik, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in China, said.

“In addition to improving standards and mining methods, this project will work individually with miners and their families to develop solutions to safety challenges,” he said.

Spouses and other family members are in a unique position to provide daily support to miners in accident prevention and awareness. The project will also prepare

families to cope with the difficulties that follow mine accidents, a UN spokesman said.

In addition to safety training, the project will also conduct pilot demonstrations for key areas of coal mine safety, and introduce new technologies for coal mine methane capture.

“This project provides a good opportunity for China to draw on international experience and introduce advanced management concepts and methods for mine safety,” Peng Jianxun, vice administrator of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, said.

China is the world’s largest

coal producer and consumer, with an estimated member of five million coal miners employed. The rapid growth of China’s economy has come with a rise in miner fatalities. While China’s coal output is one third of the world’s total, its number of mining deaths and accidents is 80 percent of the world’s total, according to a UN report.

Fatalities due to coal mine explosions are seven times greater than in other developing countries, such as India, and 70 times greater than in the US coal industry, according to the same report.

UNDP helps China adapt to climate change

Film Festival warm-up events announced

With artist Sebahat Kircak’s (left) help, Abtoabeta Orbetsova (right), wife of the Bulgarian Ambassador to China, takes her first steps in the world of marbling.

Photo by Han Manman

Embassy ladies ‘marble’ at Turkish art

By Han Manman Diplomats gathered to view traditional artwork by Turkish marbling artist Sebahat Kircak, Tuesday at the Turkish embassy.

Wearing traditional Turkish clothes, Kircak stood on the lawn with several boxes of paint, a brush, a basin and paper. Few people on hand had ever heard of Turkish marbling and wondered what she would demonstrate.

“It looks simple, but you need to dedicate at least one or two years to learn the skill,” Turkish Ambassador Oktay Ozuye said. Ozuye, who is familiar with the art, explained its history.

Marbling is an art form

done by floating paints on the surface of thick liquid, and manipulating them to create patterns. The paint is then lifted onto prepared paper.

Getting a good look at the demonstration required many diplomats to sit on the lawn in front of Kircak.

“Painting skill isn’t so important – but imagination is,” Kircak said as she waved the brush through the paint.

“Marbling is easily influenced by outside elements like the wind, which can cause the floating paints to lose their sharpness,” she said.

Kircak touched the paper to the painted liquid, and lifted it clean. Not a spot of paint was left on the water.

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen this before,” Antoaneta Orbetsova, wife of the Bulgarian Ambassador to China, said. She was the first to try her hand at marbling after Kircak’s demonstration. With Kircak’s help and the ambassador’s coaching, Orbetsova marbled. Though she made the easiest pattern, it still drew applause from the audience.

Born in 1945, Sebahat Kircak began studying marbling in 1960. She said marbling used to be popular in ancient times, and was mainly used to decorate books; now, fewer and fewer people practice it. Today, marbling is experiencing a revival in Turkey.

By Han Manman The French Ambassador to China Herve Ladsous announced yesterday a series of warm up events for the French Film Festival that will run from April 26 till May 7 in four cities.

A French artistic delegation composed of a dozen worldrenowned directors and actors, as well as distributors and producers, will travel to China to promote the films, and meet the press and audiences via interviews, TV shows and online chat sessions.

“One Night Star” will be one of the most interesting events, Ladsous said. From March 26 to April 16, a new question will be posted daily on the French Culture Center’s website, he said.

Respondents who answer correctly will be eligible for a weekly prize drawing, and a grand prize on April 15.

Weekly prizes include free movie tickets, signed posters and the chance to be a part of the artists delegation on opening night.

The winner of the grand prize can choose someone of the opposite sex as his or her date. This includes make-up, a walk up the red carpet and a chance to meet the press.

The festival starts Thursday, April 26, in Beijing, and the opening ceremony will be held on April 27. The festival will then move on to Shanghai, Chengdu and Nanjing, where the delegation will present films until May 1.

Editors: Hou Mingxin Han Manman Designer: Yang Gen

By Qiu Jiaoning China will get a hand from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its battle against climate change in seven of its provinces, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed Monday.

“The consequences of global warming are only now becoming clear, and the impact of climate change is already being felt,” Khalid Malik, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in China, said at the signing ceremony.

“The project will, in particular, help the poorest and most vulnerable regions and communities in China adapt to the adverse effects of climate change through developing and implementing provincial strategies and associated actions and measures,” he said.

The initiative will assist provincial governments in assessing potential risks posed by climate change, and to develop strategies and plans of action to respond to specific challenges.

On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, for example, the project will help local government deal with glacial melting. The glaciers are the world’s second largest source of freshwater and feed seven of Asia’s great rivers.

However, they are receding at a faster rate than any other glaciers on the planet. Their disappearance would jeopardize the water security of hundreds of millions and erase decades of development gains in the region, UNDP said in a statement on Monday.

In Ningxia and Gansu, climate change and water shortages threaten to undermine food resources. The project will work with local governments to develop crop adaptation techniques and increase water efficiency.

“The risks and future impacts of warming will vary between and within provinces. If measures are to have a real effect in the coming years, swift action must be made at the local level to develop policies and partnerships,” Malik said.

Norway will contribute a landmark grant of US$2 million to the project.

BEIJING TODAY

By Qiu Jiaoning Coal miners and their families in five provinces will undergo new training and education as part of a four-year United Nations project.

The US$14.42 million project, aimed at strengthening the safety of the coal industry in China, was launched on Tuesday in Beijing.

There will be a special focus on small-scale town and village mines, where fatality rates hover at nearly twice the national average, a spokesman for the project said. It will set up pilot training centers for over 1,000 miners and their families to raise awareness of mining dangers and safety issues

By Qiu Jiaoning The World Health Organization is supporting China to fight Tuberculosis (TB) through technical expertise, advising on international practices and facilitating access to funding for high quality TB drugs, according to an announcement by WHO’s office in China.

In China, TB is the number one infectious disease, and around 1.4 million people contract it each year. China is home to 15 percent of the world’s TB cases, and 30 percent of its multidrug-resistant (MDR) cases – TB strains resistant to nearly every TB drug available.

“There are an estimated 200,000 MDR-TB cases with up to 60,000 new ones reported each year,” Henk Bekedam, a WHO representative in China, said.

China has pledged to halve the prevalence and mortality of TB by 2010. “Meeting this target involves tackling some important challenges – tackling MDR-TB, further improving the quality of directly observed treatment strategies, reaching out to migrant workers and managing the intersection of TB and HIV/AIDS,” Bekedam said.

“China is strengthening its surveillance to detect cases of drug-resistant TB, and has launched a national drug resistance survey,” he said.

9

Commerce & consulates

UN works to improve China’s coal miner safety

WHO, China work to fight TB

March 30 2007

Community

10

Cameroonian student upset over performance mishap

By Chu Meng A Cameroonian competitor shocked a Chinese audience and committee members with a sudden, prostrate apology after he botched the Sichuan Opera “facechanging” technique in a contest held by CCTV. In a recorded scene from “Foreigners Performing Chinese Folk Art Competition” on CCTV, which includes Chinese dance, balladry, cross talk, martial arts, opera and modern drama, Francis Tchiegue’s Sichuan Opera routine began without a hitch. When he was about to change the third mask, the rope attached to it fell off for no reason. The mask could not be turned over.

Tchiegue was a Doctor of Mathematics when he came to China three years ago. He is now reading at the International Department of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He studied face-changing under a famed Chinese professional master in Sichuan Province, and began to practice diligently in 2006. He was a quick student, able to perform the technique on stage less than one year after beginning.

After he botched the performance in the recorded scene, he came onto the stage for a second time in order to apologize. “I love traditional Chinese folk art very much, and have practiced the tech-

Francis Tchiegue is talking about his experience with face-change at his Beijing home on Monday.

Photo by Tian Yufeng nique for a long time and hardly ever fail,” he said. “I feel really sorry for my mistake. Please forgive me,” he continued, kneeling down and crying in front of cameras. The audience became silent.

Francis talked about his behavior in an interview this Monday at his apartment in north Beijing, “I was incredibly embarrassed. Oh my God. I thought I was incredibly stupid. I hardly ever fail during

my daily practice. I just could not understand what happened to me then,” he said, “So I had to get off the stage sideways in front of all of the Chinese audience and committee members.”

Ding Guangquan, one of the most famous Chinese cross-talk artists and Tchiegue’s master, said in a telephone interview that, “After seeing this, all the audience and committee members burst into applause for his honesty and professional dedication and spirit.”

Tchiegue and his Russian wife married last year in China. Now they have a baby boy who is only four months old. When asked from whom he learnt this secret Sichuan Opera technique, he answered, “Face-changing in Sichuan Opera is a secret technique and is hardly ever taught to other Chinese people out of the household, much less to a foreigner like me. But my master was touched by my honesty. In return, I swore never to tell the secret to any other people, including my wife and my son.”

Tchiegue said when he was at home he always practiced in a separate room or the bathroom, never letting his wife see the secret. “If my son wants to learn it when he grows up, I will ask him to learn from a Chinese master, instead of teaching him myself,” he said.

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Hou Mingxin Wei Ying Designer: Yang Gen

More enterprises taking on environmental responsibilities

By He Jianwei More than eight enterprises and organizations shared their experiences in saving energy and reducing pollution this Wednesday afternoon at an environmental protection forum at the SinoJapan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection.

At the forum, “Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction: Responsibility and Competitiveness,” five enterprises from China and abroad delivered speeches

on their responsibility for environmental protection.

The enterprise’s behavior will change peoples’ ideas and concepts of environmental protection, Guan Zhilin, the speaker from Johnson Controls Inc, said.

“We have a program called ‘Blue Sky.’ One of the activities is putting trash cans with different labels, such as ‘glass,’ in the office building. In the first month, we received 40 kilograms in recycled waste. Maybe consumption didn’t

decrease, but recycling increased,” she said.

Alexis Vannier, the communi.. cations director of Peugeot Citroen (China) Automotive Trade Co Ltd, talked about the particle filter system. By eliminating particles and smoke, the PF system will further enhance the diesel engine’s environmental advantages.

“A diesel engine inherently uses less fuel than a petrol engine and therefore emits less greenhouse gas. This advantage is

compounded in the HDi engine, which, compared with a classic diesel unit, further reduces CO2 emissions by 20 percent, CO by 40 percent, hydrocarbons by 50 percent and particles by 60 percent,” he said.

Unfortunately, the cars sold in Beijing’s market don’t have this system. “We have two obstacles. The first is the regulation of banning diesel engines in Beijing; the second is the quality of the oil,” he said.

World Bank official shares job-hunting experience with young Chinese students

By Chen Shasha A lecture on the World Bank’s 2007 World Development Report held last Friday afternoon in the World Bank’s Beijing office featured communication between officials and young students. With the help of live video, more than a hundred students in Xi’an, Chongqing and Ningxia had an opportunity to put their questions to Emmanuel Y Jimenez, lead author of the report and director of human development for the World Bank’s East Asia and the Pacific Department.

This year’s report, themed “Development and the Next Generation” said the more than 1.3 billion young people now living in the developing world comprise the largest-ever

youth group in history. Seizing the opportunity to train them more effectively for the workplace and to be active citizens is of great importance, the report said. However, in China, more than 20 percent of firms describe poor education and work skills among their workforces. “It could be a major or severe obstacle to their operations,” Jimenez said.

Unemployment is another problem in the developing world and beyond. In Friday’s lecture, more than 90 percent of students’ questions focused on how to get their first job; some even asked if university education would really help in the job market.

Jimenez talked about his personal experience and encouraged students to get more

work experience while in university, no matter if it is paid or unpaid. “I first served as a messenger, and I learned how to communicate with people from that job,” he said. Jimenez said it’s important for young students to not only look at the initial earnings of their first job, but the potential lifetime earnings.

According to his research, the window of opportunity will close in China by 2010, and may cause many social problems since 27 percent of China’s economic development has been due to the demographic window of opportunity that has been open since 1978. “In that case, it’s important that the country invest in better education, healthcare, and job training for their record numbers of young people between the ages of 12 and 24,” Jimenez said.

Events Meet Adeline Yen Mah Adeline Yen Mah’s autobiography Falling Leaves has sold over one million copies worldwide, with her version for children, Chinese Cinderella, also proving massively popular.

She’ll read from the companion book to that title – Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society. Come along for the chance to get your books signed and to ask the writer questions about her books and her family’s fascinating history.

Where: The Bookworm, Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang When: 11:30am, March 31, Tel: 6586 9507 Human trafficking Lecture Kate Wedgwood of the British NGO Save the Children will give a talk on human trafficking situation in China, organized by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China.

Where: Italian Cultural Center, No 2 Sanlitun Dong Er Jie, Chaoyang When: 10-11: 30am, April 4 Cost: free for FCCC members; 50 yuan for non-members HIV/AIDS panel discussion HIV/AIDS is now spreading from high-risk groups to the general population, while stigma and discrimination hamper efforts to fight the lethal disease. Representatives of the Red Cross, WHO, UNAIDS and Chinese NGOs will discuss the issues facing those living with HIV/ AIDS in Beijing, and the future situation for China.

Where: The Bookworm, Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang When: 7:30pm, April 5 Tel: 6586 9507 Tour of Antique Furniture in Rural Beijing Situated outside south Sixth Ring Road, the newly opened furniture warehouse and studio artistically display traditional furnishings, which include diverse styles from different times and from various regions of China.

Where: Chinese Culture Club, Kent Center, No 29 Anjialou, Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang When: 2pm-5pm, April 1 Cost: 80 yuan Photo competition : “I am a Camera” ICEbox, in conjunction with Beijing City International School and SONY, announced the second annual “I am a Camera” photo competition. The competition is open to all students, parents and staff from Pre-K to Grade 12 age in all international schools in Beijing. All entrants will be responding to the theme “Beijing: Olympic City, Olympic Dreams.”

Architectural landscapes and sports photography will be the natural choices, but the key element is interpretation.

Where: Beijing City International School, No 77 Baiziwan Nan Er Lu, Chaoyang When: Until April 6 For more information: rich ard.todd@bcis.cn (By He Jianwei)

March 30 2007

Email your questions to: weiying@ynet.com A few issues ago, Beijing Today published an article on how pole dancing is becoming a popular way to get fit. My girlfriends and I are interested. Where can I find the classes and are there any in English? We live around the Sanlitun area.

The pole dancing place where Beijing Today’s staff interviewed participants is called Luolan pole dancing club.

Where: Room 2609, No. 3 building, Soho, No 88, Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang Tel: 5126 9914 The club prefers students with some Chinese language abilities at least.

I noticed that there are many speeding cameras on the roads. What is the penalty?

The penalty is three points with a 200 yuan fine if you are caught. If you rack up 12 points within a year, your license will be revoked.

By Jackie Zhang If you’ve visited famous scenic spots around Beijing like the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, you know how expensive tickets are. Now visitors and cultural enthusiasts have the chance to spend only 100 yuan for a through ticket to as many as 33 famous scenic spots.

The through ticket is being presented jointly by tourism departments including the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Parks and the Association of Scenic Spots in Beijing.

During the ticket’s one-year period of validity, purchasers can visit scenic spots for free and with no time limit. The ticket also includes 50 to 80 percent discounts at around 20 holiday resorts.

How to buy To buy the through ticket, you only need to provide a one-inch, bareheaded photo and pay 100 yuan. The application deadline is June 30, and the tickets expire February 28, 2008. To book tickets online, log onto tongpiao.cn/detail.jsp?id=2356, and choose the 100 yuan ticket. You can also go to the tongpiao.cn office or mail order the tickets.

Tel: 6296 8202/6296 8232

Where: Room 213, Dong Juwuye Office Building, 2000 meters west of the crossing loop, Shangdisan Lu, Shangdi Information Industry Base, Haidian When: 9am-6pm

Included attractions Juyongguan Great Wall, Tomb of Zhao and the Sacred Road in the Ming Tomb, Jiulong Amusement Park, Yinshan Silver Pagoda Forest, Gouya Natural Scenic Spot, Yunmengshan National Forest Park, Simatai Great Wall, Heilongtan Natural Scenic Spot, Capital First Waterfall Resort, Taoyuanxiangu Scenic Spot, Qinglianggu Scenic Spot, Baihua Mountain Scenic Spot, Miaofeng Mountain Scenic Spot, Yanqi Lake Scenic Spot, Xiangshui Lake Scenic Spot, Phoenix Hill Scenic Spot and Jinhai Lake Scenic Spot.

Main holiday resorts Longquan Hotel, Yunfo Mountain Holiday Resort, RGHCM Garden Resorts, Bihai Hillside Resort and Beijing Yunhu Holiday Resort.

Every ticket buyer will be offered a guidebook with introductions to the attractions, and detailed information about locations, traffic, prices and consultancy telephone numbers.

CFP Photo

Parks for flower viewing Cherry blossoms (March 24 to April 30) Yuyuantan Park Where: No 47, Sanlihe Lu, Haidian When: 6:30am-7pm in March, 6 am to 8:30 pm from April to May Tel: 8865 3800 Admission: adults 2 yuan, students 1 yuan Peach blossoms (March 22 to May 13) Beijing Botanical Garden Where: Wofo Temple, Fragrant Hills, Haidian When: 7am-5pm Tel: 6259 1238 Admission: adults 10 yuan, students 5 yuan Plum blossoms (Between end of March and the middle of April) Longtan Park Where: No 8, Longtan Lu, Chongwen When: 6:30am-8pm Tel: 6714 4336 Admission: adult 2 yuan, student 1 yuan The Ming Dynasty City Wall Relics Park Where: Chongwenmen Dong Dajie, Chongwen When: 9am-4:30pm Tel: 6527 0574 Admission: free

Free digital implant service for dogs

By Huang Daohen For Beijingers, losing your fluffy friend will no longer put you in a precarious position; help is just a phone call away.

Dog lovers in the capital can now call 8072 3699 to make an appointment at the city’s kennel club for a free electronic implant meant especially for wayward canines, the municipal public security bureau announced Monday.

The project to implant dogs with ID chips was launched to make pets easier to identify, and is supposed to help curb the spread of rabies. The chips, implanted in each dog’s ear, neck or thigh, will contain the pet’s picture, name, breed, registration information and inoculation record, plus the name, address and phone number of its owner, a staffer surnamed Wen from the Beijing veterinarians’ association said.

“Once your dog is lost, the police may find it quickly with the help of the information contained in the chip,” Wen said.

The centimeter-long chip will be implanted through subcutaneous injection. “The implantation won’t cause any health problems for the pets. The chip can be removed if it’s not needed,” Wen said, adding that the device’s condition will be checked annually.

So far, about 50 dogs have been implanted with digital ID chips to assist in dog identification and prevent the spread of rabies.

The number of registered dogs in Beijing rose to about 600,000 in 2006.

Approximately 70,000 dog bites were recorded in Beijing in the first nine months of last year, and 5 were subse- A dog recieves an ID chip implant Monday at the quently linked to rabies cases. kennel club.

Xinhua Photo

My friend was driving and got into a car accident. The other driver, who was Chinese, said it was my friend’s fault and asked for 3,000 yuan. My friend cannot speak any Chinese and he felt like he was being forced to pay. What should he do next time? Should he call the police?

Did your friend have a proper license to drive in China? If he did, he should have been informed about dealing with car accidents. We are aware that quite a few expats buy cars and drive without licenses. Since all cars are required to have full insurance, call the police and let his car insurance company to deal with the compensation.

What’s the most environmentally-friendly car for sale in Beijing?

The automotive reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily said that the Toyota Prius, which is about 280,000 to 300,000 yuan, is a very environmental-friendly car.

However, due to the lack of a universal standard for environmentally-friendly cars, no local car magazines or newspapers have come out with a list yet.

Hey, I’m looking to buy some Propecia in Beijing. Do you know where I can buy it? If I buy it, is it necessary to have a doctor’s prescription?

Yes, you can find it in drugstores. Propecia’s Chinese name is “Baofazhi.” You can also try to find it online (toufa.com/shoponline/ SHOP.asp). For safety reasons, we suggest you to visit a doctor.

You do not need a prescription for it in China. In China, you can get medicine from the hospitals.

In this issue’s health page (Page 19), we have an article about “hair loss,” with information on this subject.

(By Wei Ying)

Editors: Hou Mingxin Wei Ying Designer: Yang Gen

People enjoyed the cherry blossoms in Yunyuantan Park last spring.

News u can use

ASK

11

BEIJING TODAY

Through tickets available for 33 Beijing scenic spots

Beijing Today

March 30 2007

12

Side by side with 798 Art District, a new design district, “D Park,” was built up as a new venue for China Fashion Week, and also as a springboard to take more Chinese design powers into the limelight. In this A/W show, designers infused their works with Chinese elements, through history, patterns or anything that might remind people of “China”...

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Yu Shanshan Qiu Jiaoning Designer: Yang Gen E-mail:yushanshan724@ynet.com

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ama, of Dr t h e y m e win cad tral A untries to Designn e C the 0 co Fashion om 2 nt at g stude signers fr nal Youn r n o tives i a i n o e i e T d t s a n n rspec red n a a e o r i , e p G h t g t s y n n B 2 fa na I g Ji fere n Inspi Wan among 3 15th Chi w dif Beijing.” eloped o h s e t ou dev d to 17. n of at th stood el Award n March e designe mpressio ts, Wang ang also e o I r p W e e y d r r l . t m w e M s e e s “ y h p e H b t a d on fo cloth ontes heme Beijing’s n and sh The reas was ers C ndreds of contest, t “ I o n i i . t n cep e ums whe ction Hu for th stone dr orical con her colle as white ijing e t f w e s h o i t g B h , n n ven i n u j o o i g ti their can e oshi on Be olora . You ill find y by ba sign from for the c pression d o e le b uw g m fema y, yo oots. her d to Beijin that my i f the g carefull rts, and b iar. d s o i e s k e e t o i v i n o il i l k ur wh . the c igns. Look sleeves, s nt and fam n of sing e choo ,” she said ly shows s o a i e h g s t d e s pre is el ld long ng’s ivid a chi ess v ts in Wa curving a se culture Wang’s im . r d e e Th ghligh e patterns that Chin rds are all llful design m so glad de hi i s o a g see ja nal Chine the feelin s, these w n in her sk it, and I said. s g io w es on tradit ess convey w, quietn sfully sho months ad,” Wan ining trao o o r b es r n d c w b s t m c e a , o u d h e s c d t T t ll n tainly an hi er, w they are a 00 yuan at home a ery good a ng is cer lisa t n i a W E 0 d , v s t n W 0 e e g, a per ly 1 nd nb ign r Beijin pent near e from ex signers ca ashion, a shion des s f s a i e f “I g pra hinese d odern ress,” C innin nd m e in her d it is w me young culture a r e re h “So inese eas a al Ch All her id n o i t i . d f them one o said. ia r Gro

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By Han Manman The combination of traditional Chinese culture and fashionable underwear defines Taiwan women’s underwear producer Ordifen.

This China Fashion Week, Ordifen presented a number of updated

interpretations of the prosperous Tang Dynasty (618-907) style.

The show’s highlights are an innovative use of materials and bold use of color and fabric, with Tang Dynasty dress influencing the whole show. The work adopts Tang cloth patterns with bright colors like deep red and pink, as well as transparent lace and soft silks, which make the models fashionable, sexy and graceful.

“Women’s dress and personal adornments during the Tang Dynasty were outstanding in Chinese history,” Miao Anqi, the designer, said. The Tang Dynasty materials were exquisite – mainly made of silk, making the dresses soft and light – and help Miao’s work show China’s ancient underwear culture.

Miao said she drew the inspiration for the show lingerie series from the wall paintings in Dunhuang Mogao Caves, also known as the One-Thousand-Buddha Grottoes in China’s Gansu Province.

“The paintings that record the Tang’s dress styles like hufu (a fashion for women in Tang with the ferments of the Tartars), their lives and even their traditional dance poses are adopted as references in my work,” Miao said.

Photo provided by Chen Yongxia

CFP Phot

March 30 2007

ll a Chinese story Ch

Bandhnu and mystery

By He Jianw ei With models world mu sic ris w ing an five de alked light d ly sig Ayou S ners based along the c falling, pale rece atwalk tudio t in D•P . As on -faced dif iving the dy re tery on ar e. Diffe e of th ferent March ated us to a k, You Hon s e Y r g fe 18 at t Ayou S unnan tyle of dyein ent regions he unv ast of band yan and her t g. “We u around b d e e h c io ion. Th il n a in u u a s im g choo a e n China c o st er Th d f e hav work – show focus o fuse Chin emony of D• mys- into e bandhnu its pureness se bandhnu ese folk ed on from D e P a w bandh t n a h a r d e who k. s twis roman a form ali nu. art an le t m e Bandh c d c e o lo ,” o d d in f t els loo she sa , hes. T fashChines to hat nu is a id. tied in h k s e e li o fo w t k m w r r lk e apped isted b od was m fairies handdiffere in an ad nt pla e of dyeing in an ces, to in whic “We w a white dres old leg dhnu made e s a the preven e h the n lo n t to bu o d and m k . e O d cloth is t the p n li ild a b e mod odern arts tie ridge b ke a big cate e in more d from rpillar l etween people dustrial des .

C ig h in n in or nese fo in t e h s e e ot fo de lk art a nd Chin her countrie r to have m lk art Photo provided by ore an s to le ese de d a r s n ig ners,” a Elegant Prosper You sa bout Chiid.

Ayou Stu unveiling dio’s D Park show

Ph Xu L oto by ezho ng

Shining accessories r Elegant Prospe

By He Jianwei The clothes this fall and winter will not feature bright and showy colors, according to Elegant Prosper’s show last Saturday. However, their shining accessories will make you more gorgeous in a low profile.

Belts are the necessary accessories for Elegant Prosper’s dresses: the wide belt or the narrow one, the leather belt or the one set with diamonds or jewels. “All the belts should make your dress look polished,” Tian Ling, the executive designer of Elegant Prosper said.

“As well as the belts, shoes and boots in our show are shiny. We added some shining metal accessories to the shoes and boots,” she said.

The clothes’ inspiration is Audrey Hepburn’s signature style and the palace style in the age of Napoleon. “Audrey Hepburn is a model of elegance for women, and the palace style will make any woman look gorgeous,” Tian said.

The main colors of Prosper’s autumn and winter are white and black. Red, purplish blue, and dark brown are adopted in several designs. “After all, the colors for this fall and winter will be more sober than the colors of spring and summer. The shining accessories will make the dress perfect,” Tian said.

Integration

ashion ang Jicheng F

Meidi Zh Collection

By Han Manman Before Zhang Jicheng’s show last Saturday, many fashion critics predicted it would be the most eye-catching one among the seven ready-to-wear women’s wear releases of the fashion week.

The show, named “Meidi Zhang Jicheng Fashion Collection,” is Zhang’s come-back show with a new brand “Meidi” after having “taken a rest” from China Fashion Week for some years. Modernity, elegance and dignity are the tones Zhang sets with this series, which is divided into three themes, “Color,” “White” and “Black.”

The works were knits, cashmeres and furs. Born in Inner Mongolia, Zhang has Inner Mongolia’s main characteristics – rebelliousness and fortitude. He put a lot of effort into vaulting Chinese knitting and cashmere onto the world stage. Although the cashmere is originally from Britain and Italy, Zhang still believe the root of the cashmere is in China.

Zhang insists that creation is based on cultural integration. The original design is not the only pursuit for the designer. “The essential factor that many internationally famous brands could be well known is that they know how to combine various elements in their work. They can cleverly absorb the souls of other designers from all over the world and use them as references in their own style,” Zhang said, “Originality is needed in a design but it is not fundamental. Common designers emphasize original design, but famous designers emphasize integration. “

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By Gan Tian If men’s clothing should always be black and gray, then Cabbeen’s men clothing is towing the line. Cabbeen’s 2007/08 autumn/winter collection pays much more attention to military elements in the design, in an effort to signify masculinity. Cabbeen began this brand in Hong Kong in 1997.

“In this season’s collection, the clothing focuses on gradation,” he said after the show.

Dark and light blues and purples are the main colors.

Many military signs are used in the clothes. Olives mean peace, shields mean defense, badges mean power. All these signs are meant to convey one idea – world peace.

To overthrow fashion is to create it. Cabbeen always inspires imagination and ideas, even in typically boring men’s clothing styles. Yes, that is fashion.

Photo provided by Chen Yongxia

Editors: Yu Shanshan Qiu Jiaoning Designer: Yang Gen

Photo by Xu Lezhong

BEIJING TODAY

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0 0 2 W / A , k e e W n o i h s a F a in

Center stage

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March 30 2007

Sweet Mandarin

Books

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By Tiffany Tan Though she originally intend to write about family recipes, Helen Tse ended up with a book about three generations of women in her family, becoming the first British-born Chinese to publish a memoir. Her story spans almost a century, following the ups and downs in the lives of family members as they journey from China to Hong Kong, and finally, to England.

The book (By Helen Tse, 288pp, Ebury Press, US$22.37 – Amazon.com) begins with Helen’s grandmother, Lily Kwok, born in 1918 to an impoverished family in rural Guangzhou. With luck and hard work, Lily’s father establishes a successful soy sauce business, which caters to Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. His newfound prosperity enables the family to send Lily to the thenBritish colony.

After his murder, and the sudden loss of the business, Lily finds work in Hong Kong as a maid. She marries and has children, but poverty forces her to give up her first daughter for adoption.

Lily follows her employers

to England, leaving her children behind, but vowing to send for them as soon as she has the means.

After collecting an inheritance, Lily sends for her children and opens one of Manchester’s first Chinese restaurants, known to locals as “Lil’s” – the environment where she raises her daughter Mabel.

The influx of Chinese immigrants brings in triad culture, and gambling becomes a favorite social activity among the Chinese. Lily gets addicted to the point that she sells Lil’s to pay off loan sharks. With the loss of the restaurant, Mabel and her husband decide to open a fish and chips shop, and later, a catering business.

Mabel’s daughters become successful professionals in areas removed from food. One of them, the author, obtains a law degree from Cambridge University.

A visit to Hong Kong makes her realize the significance of cooking in her family line, and she starts her own restaurant, Sweet Mandarin, to reestablish her grandmother’s dream.

Editors: Yu Shanshan Chen Shasha Designer: Zhao Yan

BEIJING TODAY

characters are real people, and this is a true story. Tse has a simple narrative style that makes for comfortable reading.

– Sabrina F Ahmad, thedailystar.net

Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage of a Nation

Transcending cultures I have to confess that I cried when Lily gave up her daughter for adoption – the pain of doing that is something that I have had to endure and still do. It seems

no matter what culture, nationality or part of the world you are from, women’s issues and rights are the same universally.

– Richard Cunningham, Amazon.com

Gui Chui Deng (Ghosts Blow Out the Light) is number one novel on the net “deng si,” or “filament.” They have even started hunting for the tools the book describes as being used for grave robbing, and others have made a route map showing the main character’s path of robbing graves.

Not a ghost story

When I first heard of Gui Chui Deng, I assumed it was a ghost story and

series of four books about grave robbings in Shaanxi, Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet, and was published last year.

In the story, Hu Bayi finds an incomplete book about feng shui handed down by his father; Hu stumbles on an ancient grave of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) when sent down during the 1950s, discovers a nine-story ancient tower among the glaciers while serving in the army in the Kunlun Mountains, Tibet, and then goes with his friends on adventures to different places seeking treasures buried in ancient graves.

Birth of the name wasn’t too excited.

I’m a little timid, and have never been a fan of the spooky. The story is actually an exciting journey that left my stomach feeling like I had just eaten Sichuan’s hottest food.

The novel is a

By Wei Ying Du Pengpeng of the Cuckoo Bookstore in the World Trade Center recommends three books for Beijing Today’s readers. The three share a common theme – Chinese art and design.

By Xing Ruan, photographs by Patrick Bingham-hall, 239 pp, Periplus Editions, 350 yuan “The book documents the stunning designs of famed international architects, and the emergence of local Chinese architecture. The selected projects cover a broad range ... such as skyscrapers in Shanghai and public buildings in Beijing and Guangzhou – especially the new buildings [designed] for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,” Du says.

Worshipping the abyss

By He Jianwei If Baidu’s statistics are to be believed, then Gui Chui Deng (Ghosts Blow Out the Light) was the top novel published on the Internet last year.

Click tracking showed it had as many as 3.6 million readers, and post.baidu.com archives as many as 200,000 posts discussing the novel.

Fans of the book have even taken to calling themselves

Du Pengpeng’s picks

New China Architecture

Comments Real life thriller The novel reads like a Sidney Sheldon, filled with suspense and unexpected twists, but the thrill of reading this is in knowing that the strong and wonderful women that form the central

Cuckoo Bookstore Recommendations

The name of the novels is from an old Chinese saying among grave robbers, “Human light the candle, and ghosts blow it out.” Grave robbers would light a candle in the southeast corner of the grave before opening a coffin. If the candle blew out, then the robbers would have to leave the grave without taking anything. It was believed to be a kind of contract between the living and the dead.

Why it’s a favorite The writer Zhang Muye,

writing under his pen name of Tian Xia Ba Chang, was born in 1977 and opened a financial trust company in Tianjin. “I’ll write another book eventually to decode the last four books and explain what is real and what is made up. Although most of the plots are fiction, they are related to something real,” he said.

“Maybe there are two reasons my books have become a reader’s favorite. Reading is, as always, a great way to release pressure; but also I followed the theory of “worshiping the abyss.” To say it another way, I wrote about mysterious things which will either have a massive pull on readers, or be a huge turn-off,” he said.

Gui Chui Deng (Ghosts Blow Out the Light) – Jing Jue Gu Cheng (Ancient City), 25 yuan – Yunnan Chong Gu (Yunan Worm Valley), 26.8 yuan – Long Ling Mi Ku (Dragon Labyrinth), 25 yuan – Kunlun Shen Gong (Kunlun Palace), 28 yuan Published by Anhui Literature and Art Publishing House, 2006

Ronald G Knap, photographed

by A Chester Ong, 288 pp, Tuttle Publishing, 400 yuan “The book focuses on twenty well-preserved traditional homes found in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang,” Du says, “Each has extensive captions, background information and historical context.”

Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank

By Beverley Jackson and David Hugus, PhD, 310 pp, Ten Speed Press, 345 yuan “It’s the first comprehensive book on this intriguing and little known subject, and a fascinating exploration of Chinese customs and rituals, many of which are still practiced in China today. It also offers a thorough analysis of the symbols, styles and techniques used in mandarin rank squares, along with the most complete information for their identification to date,” Du says.

March 30 2007

Food

15

Eggplant and sausage patties served at Paper

Reviving your taste buds for Easter

A fruit salad from Shin Yeh Photo provided by Shin Yeh

Simple as a piece of paper

Photos provided by Paper

Simplicity revival

By Chu Meng What can be said of paper? It is white, clean, smooth to the touch and has sharp edges. And such is the underlying philosophy that went into Paper, a restaurant in Gulou prefect for clean dining.

The minimalist interior here is all white save for the hardwood floors. Health food lovers take note: there’s more here than meets the eye.

Paper’s clean decor extends beyond the restaurant’s set menu.

For example, according to the owner, Cho, the least possible amount of oil is used to prepare the food, providing a “clean eating” product.

Furthermore, the restaurant uses only organic soy sauce and vegetables.

Paper’s signature is its revolving 16-course set meal for 150 yuan per person. An extensive wine and drink list is also available.

Attention to detail at Paper is the modus operandi. Waiters inquire about allergies or other types of food before serving. What at first seem like frustratingly dainty morsels of food quickly turn into a meal capable of leaving you more than satisfied. Contemporary southern Chinese dishes and delicacies like sausages and mushroom lettuce wraps, eggplant and sausage patties, dumplings with vinegar and a delightful fruit salad with calamari come together excellently with Japanese foods like fried shrimp wraps.

By the time your dessert of cream over strawberries and cookie rolls comes, your appetite and palate will be well sated.

Paper Where: No. 138 Gulou Dong Dajie, Xicheng Open: 11am-9pm Tel: 8401 5080 Cost: 100-150 yuan per person

Succulence revival

By Chu Meng Huadu Hot Pot Restaurant is a recently opened eatery that is set to impress with a fashionable interior, beautiful pots and elegant tableware.

The first things that catch your eye are the red roses dotting the decorative dividers between the tables. The red chairs and snow-white tablecloths look equally pleasant. Curtains of glass beads are used with good effect here.

The menu is much simpler than that of many others; it’s a long sheet of paper with all the choices. The cold appetizers are definitely worth trying. Crisp pork ear slices are a winner, and the black fungus is a healthy option. If you are curious, you can try their preserved eggs with green chili slices.

There are different cuts of beef and lamb, which vary in quality and price, as well as a beef-mutton combination. The fresh handcut beef is excellent. The marinated chicken is also tasty. A different item is the Japanese Kobe beef, which comes at a stunning 638 yuan per helping.

Also recommended is their mashed shrimp, fish and squid combo. The wheat cake with sesame paste has to be one of the best in the city.

There is a good selection of soup bases.

Choices include clear, spicy soup and satay sauce. The sauces accompanying the meat include sesame paste, oil with mashed garlic and seafood sauce.

Huadu Hot Pot Where: 1/F Shunmai Jinzuan Dasha, B52 Dong Sanhuan Lu, Chaoyang Open: 11am-2:30pm, 5-10pm.

Tel: 5971 1533 Cost: 120 yuan per person

Seasame buns are a must in Huadu.

Photo provided by Huadu Hot Pot

Editors: Yu Shanshan Zhao Hongyi Designer: Yang Gen

By Chu Meng Although Taiwanese restaurants have generally not made themselves known in Beijing, Shin Yeh has won praise on the Internet for the freshness of its materials and the style of its dishes. Signature dishes like sautéed pork liver slices and stewed chicken casserole are must-have options.

Although not of particularly high quality, the pork liver is sautéed perfectly, providing just the right texture and the well-preserved flavor of liver.

The chicken casserole, or three-cup chicken in Chinese, is made with a cup of rice wine, a cup of soy sauce and a cup of vinegar, which are used to braise the chicken, and provide the secret to this mouth-watering dish.

The sautéed pork kidney with sesame sauce might come as a surprise, if you are bold enough to try it.

First of all, the pork kidney is not usually cooked this rare in other Chinese cuisines. The dish is also made with rice wine as well as sesame sauce. The fragrance of sesame oil and the smell of heated rice wine combine to give an interesting and unique flavor. The kidney should be eaten along with soup and ginger slices.

The restaurant provides more typical Taiwanese dishes such as baked karasumi, sautéed baby abalone, and sautéed oyster with preserved bean sauce. Many of the dishes here are fried quickly, to stop the seasoning from over-powering the original taste.

ShinYeh Where: No. 6 Gongti Xi Lu, Chaoyang Open: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-midnight Tel: 6552 5066 Cost: 85 yuan per person

Easter was originally the day commemorating the alleged resurrection of Jesus Christ, on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. This year, the date will be April 8. For most people, now, Easter is a secular spring holiday. For children, it means chocolate Easter eggs. For gourmands, it means, more than anything else, another good chance to revive the taste buds, which may have slept deeply throughout the whole winter, with fresh and amazing food. Here are three restaurants where we think you could have a fantastic Easter Day.

BEIJING TODAY

Freshness revival

By Chu Meng

BEIJING TODAY

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March 30 2007

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March 30 2007

Capturing the world within a pinhole

What is it?

(WPPD) was held on April 29 2001; 291 participants from 24 countries contributed images to the display. In 2006, the WPPD drew as many as 1,800 participants.

Pinhole fans in China

Eddie Chan’s camera recommendation

Zero 135 The camera is suitable for the novice pinhole photographer. The Zero 135 is a super-wide angle camera with a focal length of 25mm. It accepts 135 roll film.

An old market in Beijing, which only sells Buddhist sculptures.

Zero 2000

DIY a pinhole camera

Like the Zero 135, it is a super-wide angle camera with a focal length of 25mm, but it accepts 120 roll film. Chan’s current pinhole camera is a Zero 2000.

Paper Pinhole These cameras can be made of paper and only require glue, a ruler, a pencil and 90 minutes. With a bit of precise handiwork, you can have your own homemade camera. It’s a charming project, but not terribly practical if you are serious about pinhole photography.

If daily transportation for you includes Beijing’s subway lines, you’ll find an exhibit of pinhole photographs along the elevator. Eddie Chan, a photography and art director from Money Journal, a financial magazine took them with his pinhole camera.

Chan was first exposed to pinhole technology when he studied at Kwun Tong Vocational Training Center in 1995.

“Back then, there were no pinhole cameras on the market.

Most fans had to DIY the cameras using empty boxes or cans,” he said.

“When my friends and I decided to publish an album about Hong Kong, I chose to use a pinhole camera for photographing the island’s fishing village,” he said.

“I love the composition of the picture without perspective.

The wide-angle images, the color and the sharpness of the pictures are original and simple,” he said, “I’m fascinated by the unpredictable results when processing the film.”

Chan visualizes everything in his daily life except motion.

“It’s hard to capture motion with a pinhole camera, because exposures are so long,” he said.

Recently, he has been photographing a market near Panjiayuan, the only one to sell full Buddha sculptures in Beijing. “I want to capture the feeling of this side of peoples’ worship,” he said.

The pinhole through which everything happens is made of metal.

A brass shim or strip of metal from the lid of a small box or jar will work fine. Some people use aluminum foil from a disposable baking pan, but common foil is much too thin.

In general, the smaller the hole, the sharper the image. If the hole is too small, however, the image will end up blurring due to diffraction – when light bends around the edges of the pinhole.

Place the piece of metal on top of a sheet of hard cardboard.

Carefully poke a hole with a needle, taking care that the hole is as round as possible. You can set the needle in a cork if you need a bit more control. Hold the needle steady at a 90-degree angle to the surface, and then turn the metal upside down and sand the reverse-side flat with finegrained emery paper to remove any burrs created by the needle’s penetration.

Next, place the metal on the cardboard backside up, and rotate the metal around the needle to make sure the hole is round. The hole can be inspected with a magnifying glass, and an awl or slide projector can be used to measure its diameter.

Eddie Chan’s latest photos

Editors: Yu Shanshan Chen Shasha Designer: Zhao Yan

Euclid demonstrated the imaging potential of the pinhole in 300 BC; Sixteenth-century renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci is credited with designing the pinhole camera more or less as we think of it today.

BEIJING TODAY

By He Jianwei

Pinhole photography is a form of lensless photography. A tiny hole replaces Pinhole photography is not a new method of taking pictures, but has seen a revival in recent the lens. When light passes through the hole, years. There’s something about the world through a pinhole that no lens can reproduce. an image is formed in the camera.

More than 29 photographers toting 160 pinhole photographs of China attended last Pinhole images are softer than those shot through year’s Pingyao International Photography Festival. Their exhibit of pinhole photos was a lens. They possess a nearly limitless depth to them, the first of the kind many Chinese people were introduced to. and wide-angle images remain absolutely rectilinear. On the David Brewster, a Scottish scientist, was one of the first to make pinhole other hand, pinhole images suffer from more severe chromatic photographs, in the 1850s. Mass production of cameras and the pursuit of aberration than pictures made with a common lens, and they toler“new realism” in the twentieth century soon left little space for pinhole ate very little enlargement. photography.

Exposures are long, and range from a half-second to several hours. The A small group of dedicated pinhole photographers remains finished images are exposed on film or paper – negative or positive, black and today. white, or color.

The first Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day

Trends

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March 30 2007

Shopping

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BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Yu Shanshan Qiu Jiaoning

Designer: Yang Gen

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March 30 2007

Hair loss was never an issue in my life until I turned 23 years old. The only word to describe the realization is “horrified.”

I often saw Chinese doctors about it who were, at best, extremely irresponsible. Their prescriptions did little to conjure up anything promising on my head, and the fees were so steep. I could barely afford treatment. Without so much as a physical, they pushed equipment on me, shampoos made by the hospitals, and worse.

At one point, I was even considering hair transplants. I went to a cosmetic surgery chain that was promoted during China’s first “Manmade Beauty” contest. The experience was no better. The doctor never even asked about my hair loss history. He just examined my head and asked me to come back with 30,000 yuan for the operation fee.

Male hair loss During my fight with hair loss, a 36-year-old colleague names Sun Yongjian was quite an inspiration. Sun has a full head of hair –but not a few years ago.

“I started losing my hair when I was 27.

It just got worse and worse. I saw doctors and tried a lot of different medicines that were advertised. Some helped, and others didn’t. It cost a lot of money.”

Sun’s hair loss was caused by inflammation. But many common anti-inflammatory medicines were of little help. His current one costs 2,000 yuan and can be used for 15 years.

“It’s important to find the real cause, get the right solution and never give up,” he said.

“I’ve talked with the people who sell hair loss medicines and equipment, and try to find out who else has used them and exchange information,” he said.

Sun is very proud of his persistence: it got him his hair back, and keeps him looking young and confident.

Causes and solutions for male hair loss Men do not suffer from hair loss for the same reasons as women.

Research has shown that dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androgens are the main causes for hair loss in men. DHT is a naturally occurring hormone which assists with sexual development during fetal and puberty stages.

Research has shown that male hair loss is more directly related to hormonal issues, and a bad scalp environment, such as inflammation, itching and flaking.

Because there are two main causes of male hair loss, most medicines aim to fight against DHT and keep hair growth and loss at a normal rate, or to intercept DHT and prevent it from leading to miniaturization and hair loss.

Many products contain finasteride, minoxidil or tricomin, and an experienced physician can tell you the right combination to use in combatting your hair loss. A new product by HairMax called the LaserComb can be found in many salons world-over.

However, treatment is very expensive, so only the wealthy can afford it.

Other options are wigs or hair transplantation surgery.

Totally dismayed, my friend Eleanor wrote me an email with various links about hair loss. In her mail, she mentioned the causes for male and female hair loss are totally different. She suggested I go in for blood and hormone tests.

I studied hair loss websites and realized I probably wouldn’t end up as bald as a man. There was a lot of information about the causes of hair loss that previous doctors never mentioned. The more I learned, the less I worried. One of my favorite websites was hairlosstalk.com, but a Google search for “hair loss” will turn up many more.

Solutions Science has already shown that female hair loss is usually due to imbalances in the body caused by medications, abnormal hormones acting in the body and often by simple hormone imbalances.

These may resolve on their own in time.

Other factors, like stress or a lack of circulation or nutrients to the hair follicle, can be solved by adjusting your lifestyle.

Instead of rushing out for a hormone test, I examined my lifestyle and realized I wasn’t treating my body very well. I was dieting often, and ate little. When I did eat more, I took pills to prevent the food from being properly absorbed. My work was stressing me out.

I started going to the gym to relax after work, eating regular meals and sticking to women’s shampoo that is formulated for thinning hair.

Since then, my situation has improved a lot.

Other medicine for female hair loss There are many proven products, like Rogaine, which have developed formulas aimed at solving male and female hair loss. Big cosmetic brands like L’Oreal and Phytocyane have rolled out their own line of hair loss products.

Some women’s hair loss products contain the same ingredients as mens’, but with different percentages. Ingredients like propecia, minoxidil and tricomin will seriously affect female hormone levels. Be sure that products purchased for female hair loss are made specifically for women.

Professional help in Beijing Recently, the China Health Education Association started a campaign called “Hair Care Month.”

A survey conducted by the association shows 25 percent of men ages 24 to 45 were experiencing hair loss, and only ten percent had pursued treatment. Of that ten percent, 90 percent stopped treatment after two months and showed no positive results.

Ceasing treatment will kill the follicle and cause it to lose the ability to grow hair forever, a spokesman for the association said.

From now through April 15, the association is offering special sessions to help patients with hair loss in 30 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The session times in Beijing are: Renmin Hospital: Wednesday morning No 1 Hospital of Beijing University: Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning Beijing Chaoyang Hospital: Saturday morning No 3 Hospital of Beijing: Friday and Saturday morning Beijing Friendship Hospital: Monday and Tuesday morning Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Tuesday and Saturday morning

Health

Knowledge is key

Editors: Yu Shanshan Chen Shasha Designer:Yang Gen

My experience

Battling hair-loss means not quitting

19

CFP Photos

BEIJING TODAY

By Annie Wei Hair loss is a scary topic, and people who suffer from various degrees of the condition are often upset to discuss it.

From my own experience and my friends’, I’ve learned the key to winning the battle is never to give up hope, or the fight.

March 30 2007

Travel China

20

Ming village fortress The tunpu (village fortress) in Anshun, Guizhou, was built in the Ming Dynasty for military use. Today, it retains its original style and pace of life.

Main tunpu Dixi masks

CFP Photo

History

Originally constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as fortresses, tunpus, echo a certain military function.

When the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, came to power, the army and locals in Anshun constructed villages as military sites.

Each village included forts, sentries and toll gates.

In those days, soldiers spent most of their days working as farmers. It was only in times of war that they were called to unify and repel an enemy. People living in the tunpus were forbidden to marry people of other ancestries. Even after the passage of hundreds of years, residents of the tunpu retain their traditional Ming lifestyles, clothing and hair styles.

Ming-era factory where soldiers produced weapons Tianlong tunpu is in the rear of the mounThe most popular destitain. Beacon towers, battlenation for tunpu tourists in ments and sentry posts dot Anshun is Tianlong tunpu. the landscape.

Since the Yuan Dynasty Yunfeng Tunpu (1271-1368), Tianlong has Yunfeng tunpu is the been the tunpu with the most most complete military armies and post houses.

A Ming-style teahouse is Local women displaying shoes at the defense post, built with CFP Photo stone gates and towers. located at the entrance of the Tunpu Culture Festival Yunshan tun is one of village. Waitresses there dress in Fengyang Han the spots. It is located in the canyons of the clothes, a style of clothing which originated in Yunjiu Mountain. The only way into the village the Ming period, and is named after Zhu Yuanis a twisting, stony stairway. Long walls were zhang’s hometown, Fengyang County, Anhui. A built besides the gate to connect it into the cliffs performance hall is located behind the teahouse. of the mountain.

Visitors can see local performances there.

A stony main street crosses the village from Entering the lanes of the village, you will east to west. There are drama stages, a temple see barracks. Jiudaokan Lane is typical of the to the God of Wealth, ancestral temples and village, because it crosses through a narrow, low traditional Chinese medicine stores. gate porch with fire holes along the walls.

Residences and blockhouses are conThe mountains around the Tianlong tunpu nected by twisting lanes and built into are almost an archive of historical buildings. the mountain. The tunpu is built to Ancient ramparts and the castle-style Wulong be an ironclad defense.

Temple are all national cultural relics. A

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Yu Shanshan Zhao Hongyi Designer: Zhao Yan

Spots to see

Drama stage The remains of the Jiangnan drama stage lie alongside Donghua Street in Yunshantun tunpu. It is the widest point along the street. There used to be a couplet hanging on both sides of the stage which said, “People’s lives are changeable, and everyone’s life, no matter who you are, is like a drama.”

The stage is mainly for festive lantern operas, as well as for chuanju, or Chuan Opera. Locals often invite Chuan opera troupes to perform for a month or two in the village.

Tunpu museum The Tunpu Museum opened last May. It houses materials, pictures and items to teach visitors about traditional tunpu culture, including folk culture, clothes, food, architecture and tools.

What to eat

The tunpu boast a great assortment of truly traditional foods. People eat ciba, gaoba and baoguba made of sticky rice, their main staple. Non-staple foods include preserved ham, sausage, bloodcurd, dried, salty vegetables and dried fermented soybeans. All the foods are perfect for long-term storage.

The food traditions of the tunpu originate from army cooking. Soldiers lived a turbulent life, and it was inconvenient for them to cook. Instead, they salted and smoked vegetables for storage.

Where to stay

There are no hostels in most of the tunpu. Your best bet is to live in Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou, which is not far from the tunpu.

Guizhou Shengfeng Hotel (five star) No 69, Shenqi Lu, Nanming District Tel: 0851-5568 888 Price: 540 yuan

Jiangnan drama stage Photo provided by 0853.com Folk art – Dixi (earth opera) Dixi is a kind of open-air performance enjoyed by the tunpu dwellers. Performers sing, recite, act and fight. Most of the popular operas are about historical stories set before Ming Dynasty, like wars between Chu and Han, the Three Kingdoms period and Fengshen Yanyi, a Ming novel about the battle of celestial beings to seal away evil.

A carved door stone Photo provided by tunpu.net

Yunshantun Gate CFP Photo

The masks used in Dixi are typical of folk art in central Guizhou. Performers wear the masks on their foreheads, and dress in long gowns and battle skirts, with flags on their backs and weapons in their hands.

Dixi is considered a living fossil of Chinese opera, and has been performed in foreign countries including France, Spain and Japan. There are more than 300 Dixi troupes in Anshun.

Guiyang Lihao Hotel (four star) No 115, Ruijin Bei Lu Tel: 0851-6521 888 Price: 398 yuan Guiyang Ruijin Hotel (three star) No 62, Ruijin Nan Lu Tel: 0851-5209 999 Price: 186 yuan

Getting to the tunpu

Most tourists travel to the tunpu from Guiyang. The bus and railway station has buses to Anshun. A ticket is 15 yuan, and it takes about two hours.

In Anshun, take a bus from the stadium stop to Qiyanqiao Town. A ticket will cost about two to three yuan. Qiyanqiao Town has tractors to take visitors to see the Yunshantun tunpu.

To reach the Tianlong tunpu, first take a bus at the stadium stop in Guiyang to Anshun Nan Station. The ticket price is 25 yuan. Next, take a bus to Tianlonglukou for 5.5 yuan.

(By Jackie Zhang) An ancient military tower

Photo provided by tunpu.net

March 30 2007

The splendid Norwegian fjords A voyage along the coast of Norway up to the Arctic Circle

By Irk Jacobsen Irk Jacobsen is an American living in Seattle. He joined a tour group to Norway – the Northern way – last May, and enjoyed a coastal voyage along the fjords of western Norway

North Cape We took an organized excursion – our first and only one of the trip – to Nordkapp.

A bus picked us up from the ferry and took us on a quick run through town before heading out on an arctic road. The bus ride was gorgeous – reindeer, mountains and snow.

Bodo and the Lofoten Islands Bodo is a boring town as far as I could tell.

Later in the day, we stopped in Stamsund, the beginning of the Lofoten Islands. It was so beautiful.

After dinner we went to Svolvaer, the “capital” of the Lofoten Islands.

The sun has never gone down much during this trip, but now it is out 24 hours a day. Tonight, we

bridge, and none of us felt like we had to go to a church. It seemed quite pretty though.

Back on board, there was an “arctic circle ceremony.” All of us who had crossed into the arctic got a certificate saying so – right after submitting to “King Neptune” by dumping a few ice cubes down the backs of our shirts. Brrrrr!

Cheesy, but fun.

were told that at 11:30 pm we would be going through Trollfjord and they would be serving “Troll Soup.” It was just chicken and rice soup!

But the fjord was amazing. Stunningly beautiful and very narrow, at times it seemed like you could reach out and touch the sides of the fjord.

The ship goes through to the end and then does a crazy five-point turn to get back out.

Kirkenes and Vard Kirkenes is the termination point for the northbound route.

Kirkenes isn’t gorgeous – but then again, it was bombed over 300 times during World War II. There is a large and impressive statue honoring the Soviet soldiers who liberated the town after the war. We saw an old bomb shelter and the Russian embassy. Several street signs are in both Norwegian and Russian.

We were only about 15 kilometers from the border, but we didn’t bother going near it. They warned us that if we did, we couldn’t step over the border, throw anything over the border or even take a picture with a telephoto lens!

After Kirkenes, we stopped in Vard – Norway’s eastern most town. There we were met by a drummer in colonial garb, and, like lemmings, we followed him through town to the Vardhaus Festning, a fortress constructed in 1737.

Trondheim Walking through Trondheim was a delight.

The whole town was mostly asleep still as we walked through some super-cute cobblestone streets, past the wharf and over the Gamle Bybro (Old Town Bridge) to the Cathedral.

By the time we left the cathedral, the town was awake.

We walked around more, checked out another church (Hospitalkirken), the fish market and the royal residence in Trondheim, the surprisingly humble-looking Stiftsgarden.

Oslo We arrived in Oslo on the first day and went directly to the Vigeland sculpture park. Then we headed to Frognerseteren for coffee and apple cakes. On the way, we passed by the Holmenkollen ski jump.

We had to go to bed around 7 pm. In early spring, it’s barely dark in Norway, which makes it difficult to sleep.

Our second day in Norway was on Norwegian Constitution Day! Our hotel was fantastically situated kitty-corner from Slottsparken, the park surrounding the royal palace.

Very few people were out, but the many who were, had already dressed in their national costumes – the Bunad for women. It’s amazing how many people were dressed in traditional clothes.

Bergen I caught the 10:30 am train from Oslo to Bergen. The seven-hour train ride went by some lovely scenery, and it was like we went through a year’s worth of seasons in one day. It was spring when we left Oslo, then we climbed up the Hardangervidda mountain range and saw nothing but blinding white snow all around. As we descended, it became spring again.

Bergen was 100 percent delightful. Cobblestone streets, charming old houses – all of it was adorable!

After spending a day in Bergen, we headed to Hurtigruten headquarters to take the cruise ship Finnmarken, which would cruise the Norwegian coast for the next 10 days.

Norway travel tips: Norway has a very mild climate, thanks to the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Temperatures in July and August sometimes reach as high as 25-30ć.

Your luggage should include light clothes, items you can

layer, a warm jumper and a waterproof coat.

The basic unit of Norwegian currency is the “kroner” (NOK), which has an exchange rate of about 6.1 kroner to US$1.

The Norwegian Coastal Voyage The Norwegian Coastal Voy-

age’s fleet travels the 1,250 mile spectacular west coast of Norway throughout the year. The trip takes you along the country’s captivating, fjord-filled landscape as it rounds 34 amazing ports each way, from Bergen in the south, across the Arctic Circle in the north, to Kirkenes near the

Russian border, or vice versa.

Price: US$800-2,000 Address: 11 Broadway, Suite 330, New York, NY 10004 Tel: +1-212-480 4521 (international), +1-800-334 6544(US) Website: cruisenorway.com Email: info@cruisenorway.com

Visa: Norway is a Shengen member. A Shengen visa (90 days) costs 600 yuan, or US$80; a work, study or residence visa costs 1,300 yuan or US$180.

Royal Norwegian Embassy Tel: +86-10-6532 2261 Fax: +86-10-6532 2140

Editors: Yu Shanshan Zhao Hongyi Designer: Zhao Yan

In Tromso, we headed first to Polaria – an educational center for studying the arctic. Afterwards, we headed to Mack’s brew pub. I paid US$8 for a pint. Beer is so expensive here!

We walked around Tromso. The arctic cathedral we opted to see only from a distance. It was a bit of a hike across the

There were buses for German and English speakers.

The tour guide told us the church in town was the only building Nazi Germans didn’t burn down on their way out.

Maybe Americans will be touring Baghdad in 2060.

BEIJING TODAY

Tromso

up north into the Arctic Circle, where Norway meets Russia.

Irk posted his tour diary online , inviting netizens to share his tour to this fantastic corner of the world.

Travel abroad

21

March 30 2007

Script

22

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Yu Shanshan Qiu Jiaoning Designer: Zhao Yan

Scene 1: Emily walks Andy down the hall.

Emily: Okay, so I was Miranda’s second assistant ... but her first assistant recently got promoted, and so now I’m the first.

Andy: Oh, and you’re replacing yourself.

Emily: Well, I am trying. Miranda sacked (1) the last two girls after only a few weeks. We need to find someone who can survive here. Do you understand?

Andy: Yeah. Of course.

Who’s Miranda?

Emily: Oh, my God. I will pretend you did not just ask me that. She’s the editor in chief of Runway, not to mention a legend. You work a year for her, and you can get a job at any magazine you want. A million girls would kill for this job.

Andy: It sounds like a great opportunity. I’d love to be considered.

Emily: Andrea, Runway is a fashion magazine ... so an interest in fashion is crucial.

Andy: What makes you think I’m not interested in fashion?

Emily: Oh, my God. No! No! No! Andy: What’s wrong?

Emily: She’s on her way. Tell everyone!

Nigel: She’s not supposed to be here until 9:00.

Emily: Her driver just text messaged, and her facialist ruptured a disk.

God, these people!

Nigel: Who’s that?

Emily: That I can’t even talk about.

Nigel: All right, everyone! Gird your loins (2) !

Scene 2: Andy is in a dark, loud, bustling bar with her friends.

Andy: I basically came out and told her I had no idea that she’s one of the most important people in New York publishing. Oh, and then I rambled (3) like a crazy person.

Lily: When do you find out if you got it?

Andy: Have you not heard what I’ve been saying? I was a jackass (4). I’m not getting it (5).

Doug: You never know. Miranda Priestly is famous for being unpredictable.

Andy: Oh my God. How is it that

you know who she is and I didn’t.

Doug: I’m actually a girl.

Lily: That would explain so much.

Doug: Seriously, Miranda is a big deal (6). I bet a million girls would kill for that job.

Andy: Okay, now you’re really scaring me. Maybe I shouldn’t let this bother me. It’s a fashion magazine. It’s all about cleavage and lip-gloss, right? I turned down (7) law school to be a journalist. Runway’s not right for me.

Nate: I don’t know. You do have to start somewhere.

Lily: Yeah. Look at Nate. He’s flipping chicken breasts at O’Neal’s now so he can work his way up to being a chef. And I would take any job in the art world. Even if it was not exactly what I wanted.

Andy: So what you’re saying is, I just blew my big break in journalism. Great.

Doug: Luckily, I already have my dream job.

Scene 3: Nate and Andy walk together down the street away from the gallery.

Andy: Look. I know you’re upset because I’ve been so busy, missed you birthday.

Nate: Andy, please.

I don’t care about that stuff (8). It’s you.

You’re changing.

Andy: That’s not true.

Nate: You used to be thoughtful, downto-earth (9), no bullshit.

When you started that job you laughed at the Runway girls, their vanity, their pettiness (10), the way they worshipped Miranda. And now you’ve become one of them.

Some new creature. Mirandy.

Scene 4: Miranda and Andy ride along in the limo on their way back to Paris.

Miranda: I was impressed, though.

How hard you tried to warn me. And that, whatever you thought was happening, you just kept on doing your job.

(She studies Andy) Miranda: I never thought I would say this, but I see a lot of myself in

Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Adrian Grenier, Tracie Thoms, Rich Sommer, Simon Baker and Daniel Sunjata Synopsis: Andrea Sachs comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city’s biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly. Sachs changes her attitude and behavior, affecting her private life and the relationship with her boyfriend Nate, her family and friends. In the end, she learns that life is about choices.

you. Your sharpness (11), your focus, your ability to see a move or two ahead. Above all, your dedication.

Andy: Thank you, Miranda.

Miranda: Your father was ill yet you chose to stay and help me and help Runway. That’s very admirable.

(Andy looks at her, stunned that she knows.)

Miranda: Nigel told me. It was the right choice, exactly what I would have done when I was your age. Not everyone can do that. Push their feelings aside.

(And now she’s speaking as much to herself as to Andy) Miranda: The more powerful you get, the more you’ll be judged and scrutinized (12), on display. You’ll miss thingsvacations, sunsets, moments with your family. Not everyone can withstand that pressure, Andy. But now you know that you can.

(Andy stares at her, blown away by what Miranda is saying.)

Miranda: And so now you know that you can have my life. Because you can sacrifice the things that need to be sacrificed.

Andy: But what if I can’t do that? I mean, what if that’s not what I want?

Miranda: Don’t be silly, Andy. Of course that’s what you want. Everyone wants to be me.

(By Han Manman)

Vocabulary 1 Sack: a slang term meaning dismissing someone from their job.

2 Gird one’s loins: prepare oneself for action.

3 Ramble: to talk in a very confused way so that other people find it hard to understand.

4 Jackasses: annoying stupid people.

5 Getting it: understanding; comprehending 6 A big deal: slang meaning an important or impressive person or thing 7 Turned down: to say no; to refuse an opportunity or offer.

8 Stuff: things, in many cases meaning unimportant or trivial matters 9 Down-to-earth: not pretentious or affected; straightforward. Not overly ornate; simple in style.

10 Pettiness: mean or ungenerous in small or trifling things 11 Sharpness: extremely sensitive or responsive 12 Scrutinized: to examine in detail with careful or critical attention

March 30 2007

This column aims to identify Chinglish in public areas. If you see any Chinglish signs, please take a picture and send them to Shirley_chen @ ynet.com with your name and address.

Environmen – friendly trash box

By Ari Savitzky

23

Chinglish

Chinglish on the way

By Ari Savitzky

CFP Photo

1. Chinese traditional With its rich cultural heritage, China has a lot that could be called “traditional,” from dance to clothing to stories and art.

But, the correct construction is “traditional Chinese,” for example, “traditional Chinese instruments.” There’s a broader rule at work here: if you’re using multiple adjectives, and one of them designates nationality, that one comes last. For example, it is “young Chinese artists,” not “Chinese young artists,” and “early American film,” not “American early film.” Make an exception only when an adjective is part of a phrase, for example, “British punk rock.”

2. Such as This phrase is often used unnecessarily, when “like” would work just as well, and flow a lot better. Why say, “I only excel in subjects such as history and writing,” when you could say, “I only excel at subjects like history and writing”?

3. Besides While “such as” is too formal for use in conversational writing, “besides” is too informal, and often used incorrectly.

“Besides” really means “aside from that, this.” For example, “Besides Timmy, our team has only one good player.” It is used colloquially to mean “moreover” or “furthermore,” but it can’t be used that way in written English. Generally, English writers and speakers should think long and hard before throwing this word in to a sentence – “furthermore” is a better transition word to use if one is really necessary.

4. In order to This expression is usually used correctly but unnecessarily. Most of the time, one can just say “to” and drop the “in order”; the meaning – that an action was done to bring about a certain response or for a specific reason – will remain clear.

5. The/a Articles like “a” and “the” are a tough concept to grasp, but here’s a quick explanation. “A,” the indefinite article, is used when one is referring to a non-specific thing of which there is more than one; the definite article “the” refers to something specific. For example, “Let’s take a week off,” could refer to any week in the future; “Let’s take the week off,” implies a specific week, usually the current one.

Chinglish story This column is drawn from amusing daily Chinglish mistakes. If you have any comical experiences to share, send them to Shirley at Shirley_chen@ynet.com.

The man is alive

By Jackie Zhang Although I majored in English while at university, I still have to pay lots of attention to using proper phrases and words when working in English media. Even now, I cannot avoid making funny mistakes.

Two years ago, I wrote a story about a criminal who felt guilty and tried to kill himself; he was saved and caught by police. When I wrote the article, I planned to use “kill oneself” but finally gave up and chose to use “commit suicide” instead, because the phrase “kill oneself” seemed a little bit like Chinglish. If I used “commit suicide,” perhaps the polisher might think that my English was top-notch.

The second afternoon after I had handed in my article, Joe, our American copy editor, burst

into laughter. “Jackie, you said the man committed suicide, then how could he be caught and jailed later?” Joe asked me, “I’m not laughing at you. But it sounds really interesting. ‘Commit suicide’ means that the person succeeds in killing himself. But here, you’d better say that the man tried to kill himself but failed.” He suggested that I use the expression “kill himself” after all!

The funny mistake was because of my simpleminded understanding of some English words.

From then on, I decided not to use words based on my personal hunches, but to look them up in dictionary or to ask English native speakers instead.

Just for reference, you can also say “attempted suicide.”

One step from Chinglish Below are word-pairs so similar, they often confuse non-native English speakers. Some mistakes have even led to Chinglish jokes.

By Chen Shasha

1. Internal / Inner Internal is situated or existing in the interior of something, or coming from, produced or motivated by the psyche or inner recesses of the mind. Inner is more intimate, private, or secret, for example, the inner workings of the organization. It can also mean not obvious, hidden or obscure: an inner meaning.

brief or fleeting, for example, a momentary glimpse. Momentous means of great or farreaching importance, for example, a momentous occasion.

4. Luxuriant / Luxurious Luxuriant is producing abundantly, as soil; it can mean fertile, fruitful or productive. Luxurious is characterized by luxury, for example, a luxurious mansion.

2. Bound to / Bound up in

5. According as / According to

Bound to means “of course to,” for example, “He is bound to change his name.” Bound up in means devoted or attached to, for example, “She is bound up in her teaching.”

“According as” means depending on whether, for example, “I’ll stay according as I have time.” It also could mean “depending on how.” “According to” is in agreement or accord with, for example, “according to his judgment.”

3. Momentary / Momentous Momentary is lasting but a moment, very

Of course, you can lead an expat to a trash can, but you can’t make them throw out their refuse in the right bin – at least not without intelligible English.

Aside from the grammatical problems on this trash can, it might benefit from a more specific translation.

Let’s start with the basics: environment is spelled with a “t” at the end. Furthermore, “environment-friendly,” while understandable, isn’t really right. What we need is the adverbial form, “environmentally,” to describe the particular manner in which this bin is friendly.

The second main problem is the phrase “trash box.” A box is generally for carrying or holding things, and not for waste; while “trash box” is understandable, the proper idioms are trash bin or trash can. The metal, streetside variety of rubbish receptacle is usually called a trash can.

The larger issue here is that the phrase “environmentally-friendly trash can,” while somehow soothing, really doesn’t help someone deduce where to chuck their bottles, empty cigarette boxes or halfeaten jianbing. Judging by the characters guopi, this is a can for compostable, organic waste. Better just to label it as such.

Open the door becareful

The meaning of this sign is clear enough, but it’s a linguistic train-wreck.

Clearly, the idea is to let people know to be careful when opening the door, and that’s exactly what it should say. “Becareful” isn’t a word, but a simple space will turn it into “be careful.” The problem is that “Open the door be careful” isn’t really right – at best it’s two imperative statements with no implication of a connection between the two actions. The sign is supposed to alert people to be careful when opening the door, after all.

So, “be careful when opening door” would do nicely. But, if we want to be brief about it, we can use an adverb to describe the manner in which the door should be opened: “Open the door carefully.”

BEIJING TODAY

Beijing Today has come up with Blacklist, a new column of words or phrases commonly misused by Chinese. If you’re planning to be an English teacher, reporter or employee of a multinational company, then this page is your new best friend. Watch for it each week.

Editors: Yu Shanshan Chen Shasha Designer: Yang Gen

Blacklist

March 30 2007

Weekend

24

Friday, March 30

Sunday, April 1

Exhibition

Exhibition

Gulistan and Yorgos Joint Exhibition This is the meeting of two artists from disparate origins; one hailing from Greece in Mediterranean Europe, the other born in Xinjiang in the extreme west of China; now, both share the reality of living and working in Beijing.

Where: Today Art Museum, No 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang When: Daily 9am-5pm, until April 8 Admission: Free Tel: 5876 0011 Fan Anxiang Solo Exhibition

The Photography of Shi Guangzhi

Shi Guangzhi is well known for his photographs of flowers. In his Cool Breeze and Shadowy Bamboo series, he continues to use this skill of multiple exposures. The bamboo is puzzling, elegant and even glamorous.

Where: 798 Photo Gallery, No 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang When: Daily 10am-6pm, until April 30 Admission: Free Tel: 6438 1784, 6437 5284 Group Exhibition of Contemporary Oil Paintings

Where: Beijing Art Now Gallery, Worker’s Stadium, opposite Gate 12, Chaoyang When: Tue-Sun 12-7pm, until April 27 Admission: Free Tel: 6551 1632

Movie

BEIJING TODAY

Editors: Yu Shanshan Qiu Jiaoning Designer: Zhao Yan

One foot off the ground (Ji quan bu ning) A comedy about losing your footing and regaining your balance. The ensemble drama opens with the plight of a celebrated opera company, buckling under the weight of financial difficulties. The dream of the opera company’s reestablishment and reemergence lingers in all performers’ hearts.

Where: Cherry Lane Movies, inside Kent Center, Anjialou, Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang When: Friday and Saturday, 8pm Admission: 50 yuan Tel: 139 0113 4745

Saturday, March 31 Exhibition Pivot – Group Exhibition from China and the USA Featuring artists including Al Lewis, Carmen Einfinger, Elvan Erdin, Jason Douglas Griffin, Sarah Small, Whitney McVeigh, David Shillinglaw, Mu Lintong, Chen Leilei, Fan Yaping, Su Bilian, Liu Bin, Chen Ying, You Qi, Yi Guodong and Yan Heng.

Where: 3+3 Space, No 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang When: Daily 10am-6pm, until April 25 Admission: Free Tel: 6437 9942, 6437 3432 Emergency Brake – Chen Yufei Solo Exhibition Where: Red Gate Gallery, Dongbianmen Watchtower, Chongwen When: Daily 10am-5pm, until April 25 Admission: Free Tel: 6525 1005

Beyond the Bank – Liu Qinghe Works Liu Qinghe is one of the earliest pioneers who started to develop the role of ink and wash painting – using ink and wash to depict contemporary life.

Where: National Art Museum of China, No 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng When: TueSun 9am-4pm, until April 5 Admission: Free Tel: 6401 7076, 6401 2252

Movie Guava It’s the story of a biological father and a foster father. Their daughter arranges for them to live together and they finally come to understand each other.

Where: Space for Imagination, No 5 Xingwangzhuang, Shuangqing Lu, Haidian When: 7pm Admission: Free Tel: 6279 1280

The exhibition will feature more than 30 works by young Chinese painters such as Pang Yongjie.

Where: Qin Gallery, Enjoy Paradise, 1-1E Huawei Li (North of Beijing Curio City), Chaoyang When: Daily 9:30am-7pm, until April 30 Admission: Free Tel: 8779 0461, 8779 0458

Outdoor Antique Furniture in Rural Beijing – A Home Design Tour and Art Show Join an antique Chinese furniture tour to the suburbs of Beijing to learn about antique furniture and furnishings, from wood and paint, to style and tips on verifying authenticity, and finish with a tour of the workshop attached to the warehouse.

Where: Situated outside south 6th Ring Road, the newly opened furniture warehouse and studio artistically displays traditional furnishings.

When: 2-5pm Cost: 80 yuan Tel: 6432 9341; 6432 1041 (Chinese Culture Club)

Stage in April Music Symphony Concert Who: China Philharmonic Orchestra Where: Poly Theater, No 14 Dongzhimen Nan Lu, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm, April 1 Admission: 50-680 yuan Renee Flaming Recital Who: Renee Flaming Where: Zhongshan Music Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm, April 7 Admission: 80-880 yuan

Rolls-Royce London Symphony Orchestra Concert Who: Rolls-Royce London Symphony Orchestra Where: Poly Theater, No 14 Dongzhimen Nan Lu, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm, April 19 and 20 Admission: 300-2200 yuan Symphony Concert Who: China Philharmonic Orchestra Where: Zhongshan Music Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm,

April 21 and 28 Admission: 40-480 yuan

Drama A Beauty Encounter Who: Directed by Meng Jinghui and performed by Xia Yu and Gao Yuanyuan Where: Poly Theater, No 14 Dongzhimen Nan Lu, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm, April 5-15 Admission: 80-880 yuan The Straw House (Caofangzi) Told from the perspective of elementary school student Sang Sang, The Straw House tells a

number of seemingly ordinary yet touching stories. It describes Sang Sang’s growing understanding of life and of death, and the many people who, by unexplained acts of fate, enter and influence his boyhood world.

Who: Directed by Cao Ping and performed by Zhang Jian Where: Peking Universality Concert Hall, inside Peking University, Haidian When: 7:30pm, April 7 and 8 Admission: 150-380 yuan I Love You For the debut of the 5th

Beijing International Play Season, Broadway contributes its famous musical I Love You. Known as “the most romantic and humorous musical play in Broadway history,” it gives stage to a lawyer, father, prisoner and Blues and Jazz music.

Who: Lin Yilun and Broadway Asia Entertainment Co Ltd Where: Capital Theater, No 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng When: 7:30pm, April 17 Admission: 100-300 yuan (By Qiu Jiaoning)